


Calm After the Storm

by calmafterthestormLIS



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Love, Postscript, Romance, life is strange au, pricefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-29 02:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5112446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calmafterthestormLIS/pseuds/calmafterthestormLIS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of that fateful week in October Chloe and Max take time to reconnect properly and explore the feelings they have for each other. Kinda AU as I am ignoring the tornado but everything else up to Episode 5 nightmare sequence happened</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plans (Max POV)

Chloe had called earlier in the day saying she wanted to take Max out to dinner that night since they hadn't seen each other in a couple of days. This was because of Max not keeping up with her homework during the previous two weeks as a result of everything that had happened. _'Unfortunately, the school doesn't care when there are deadlines'_ Max thought as she tried to push back the memories of the worse parts of the week from hell and the week that followed.

She had briefly considered using her powers to rewind and give her more time to study but decided that the pain from the headache and the blood gushing from her nose would probably kill her before she even finished one essay.

One thing she was thankful for was that the storm had come and gone without much impact, a few broken signs and trees from the wind and lightning but never turning into the tornado she saw in her visions and some of the timelines she had been through. Everything else she had gone through, the pain of seeing Chloe killed trying to fix things over and over again before she could find her way back to her still weighed heavily on her mind. _'Thank god Warren insisted on taking that photo'._

Feeling the panic she had felt that night rear its head again she sat at her computer bringing up her email attempting to distract herself from the thoughts that would drift in when she was alone.

*Bzzt* *bzzt*. Reaching for her phone, Max smiled as she saw who the message was from.

Chloe: On way get dat cute ass in gear!

Chloe: xoxoxo

Max fired off a quick reply

Max: (^_^ )!

*Bzzt**Bzzt*, another message appeared.

Chloe: NO EMOJI!

Moving her now completed pile of homework to her school bag for the next day she quickly tidied up the mess of soda cans and crisp packets strewn about her desk from her earlier study session and checked her phone once more. 'No new messages' was displayed, but she figured Chloe would nearly be at the school by now. _'Best not keep Chloe waiting, she tends to get restless'_ smiling as she recalled seeing the bluenette fidgeting impatiently anytime she had to stand still.

She grabbed her usual grey hoodie from the back of her chair and darted out of her dorm barrelling into and nearly knocking over Victoria as she went.

"Do you ever pay attention, Caulfield?" her tone was sharp but at least not venomous as it had been at the start of the school year. Max wasn't sure she'd call Victoria a friend but she had come to appreciate certain qualities in the blonde. They had agreed to be civil to each other and that Kate was off limits once she returned to Blackwell next month. So far they had managed to be amicable but still enjoyed the occasional bit verbal sparring.

"Sorry Victoria," she said sheepishly. "I'm just heading out for dinner and was in a bit of a rush"

"Out for dinner?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah... Chloe asked me out earlier. I was just on my way to meet her"

Raising an eyebrow quizzically "Price asked you out?" smirking as she continued "I would never have guessed that you'd be into the whole bad boy thing or girl or whatever she is"

Max rolled her eyes "Nice Victoria, real nice" turning away from the blonde she made toward the stairwell door with Victoria shouting behind her.

"Have fun on your date and don't let Price bite, you never know what diseases she's carrying!"

* * *

Now in the cool air outside she breathed deeply trying to release the stress she felt earlier as she made her way across the school grounds. Seeing Dana and Juliet sitting on the bench in over the far side of the gardens she waved to them not wanting to interrupt their conversation and continued past the main gates. _'I'm glad those two made up after that whole Zachery incident.'_

Spotting David Madsen turning the corner she remembered the last time she had bumped into him here, it felt like a thousand years ago when she stepped in to defend Kate. However, she had a newfound respect for him after he had rescued her from Jefferson in one of the many versions of events she struggled to keep straight in her head. She could never thank him for what he did as it never happened to him, but even in this reality he had been man enough to admit to his mistakes and had come to an understanding with Chloe. In the space of two weeks their relationship had improved, even if they still butted heads over some things at least they understood each other's motivations a little better.

"Max." David said nodding his head slightly.

"Hi, David." Max replied softly giving him a reassuring smile. Max had helped him patch things up with Joyce after the eventful morning at the Price household and had spoken to Principal Wells to convince him to take David back as head of security at Blackwell. She had been successful in both which had helped make things easier between them.

"I know that you're probably on your way out with Chloe so I won't keep you back. I hope you enjoy your evening but stay away from trouble out there." He was stiff and a little awkward when alone with Max as he never knew what to say to her, mostly they ended up discussing Chloe as they at least had their concern for her wellbeing in common.

"She's taking me for dinner so I can't image we can get into too much trouble with that." Laughing a little as she spoke.

Despite his serious demeanour, he knew Max was trying to lighten the mood as he huffed slightly in amusement. "I'm sure Chloe can find a way, but if you need help call me anytime I will be there for you both. Just stay safe."

*Bzzt**Bzzt* Checking her phone showed Chloe had just pulled into the parking lot.

"We will, David." Max replied, making a move toward the steps separating the campus from the dorms, turning back just as she reached the first step. "Thanks for looking out for us. We both appreciate it even if we sometimes clash over the details."

David nodded again accepting Max's comments "G'night, Max."

* * *

As Max approached the parking lot she spotted Chloe leaning against the passenger side door of her rusty truck cigarette in hand looking relaxed and calm. Wearing her usual get up, boots, ripped jeans, tank top, and jacket, completing the look with her trademark blue dark beanie covering her bright blue hair, Max couldn't help but admire how beautiful Chloe had become in their years apart. _'She was always pretty when we were younger but I really love how she looks now; the tough punk look really suits her. I just wish it wasn't because of all the shit she's had to deal with alone.'_ shaking her head to suppress those thoughts for now.

Chloe turned her head toward the sound of Max's footsteps, the punk's usually permanent scowl turned into a bright genuine smile as she laid eyes on Max.

"Maxaroni, what took you so long, I've been waiting forever!" Chloe exclaimed, eyes twinkling mischievously as she moved off the truck door.

"You literally pulled up a minute ago you dork." giggling at the taller girls fake outrage. Darting forward, Max pulled the taller girl close and buried her head in the crook of Chloe's neck. Breathing deeply once more as she felt Chloe's arms wrap around her shoulders holding her tight. They remained like that for a few moments before pulling apart. As soon as they had parted Max wished she could close the gap between them again.

"So... how was Blackhell? Any new drama?" Chloe inquired grinning impishly.

"It was boring as hell Che, I wish I could have escaped with you earlier today but I really needed to finish all that homework and catch up on the reading I had missed." Max pouted slightly. "I've missed you these last couple of days."

Chloe smiled reaching out bringing her hand to Max's face running her thumb gently across the smaller girl's cheek "I missed you too Max." Her voice was soft as was the look she gave. This was a side of Chloe that only Max got to see, the unbelievably gentle, affectionate, and caring girl she had grown up with.

' _I'm so glad that despite everything she's been through that this part of her still exists.'_ Max moved her hand to cover Chloe's smiling shyly at the affection the punk was displaying as well as the spark she felt from the contact of their hands. She could feel herself starting to blush. _'I feel like a schoolgirl experiencing her first crush.'_ Max thought to herself. _'You realise that's exactly what this is right dumbass?'_ another part of her mind argued. She knew that since returning to Arcadia Bay she had definitely been crushing on her best friend, but over the last few weeks thinking back to before she had left for Seattle, she had realised that what she had thought to be friendly admiration for the older girl as a pre-teen was actually the beginning of something more.

"-na make it on time."

"H-huh?" Max stammered not having heard most of what Chloe had said.

Chloe removed her hand from Max's face but still kept a hold of her hand. Chuckling before repeating "I said we should hit the road if we wanna make it on time Maxi-Pad." enjoying the chance to tease the brunette.

"R-right..." Max blushed even further instantly feeling a little annoyed at herself for being so obvious. "Let's go then."

Chloe opened the passenger side door with her other hand stating playfully "Your carriage awaits M'lady."

"Why thank you, kind sir." Max responded in kind as she hopped up into the truck. Her hand felt cold as Chloe let go in order to close the door and move around to the driver's side.

Sighing quietly she felt herself pulling inward once more. _'Why can't I just relax and enjoy this evening, I should be focused on Chloe, not on anything else that happened or didn't happen.'_

"You ok dude?" Chloe asked, concern evident in her tone and expression. "You seem kinda tense over there."

"I'm..." Max paused before continuing holding back her more immediate reaction to tell Chloe about the moment of panic she experienced earlier. _'She already has her own grief to work through after finding Rachel, it wouldn't be fair to expect her to hold you up too. You need to be strong for her.'_ "...ok, just been a stressful few weeks and I had so much work to do to catch up because of everything." She spotted the slight frown that appeared momentarily on her friend's face. _'She knows that's not the real reason. Chloe always could read me like a book.'_

"Max you know I'm here for you too, this isn't a one-way thing," Chloe stated, turning toward the younger girl, concern woven into her words. "You must know that by now."

"I do, Chloe, but really I'm ok. We're both here, alive and together, and that's the most important thing to me right now." She tried to smile reassuringly, not quite sure if she completely managed to but it was enough for Chloe to realise that she would be alright for the moment and that the discussion could wait.

Chloe reached over rubbing her arm in a comforting motion "Ok Max. I'll leave it for now but please talk to me when you're ready, don't shut me out, it's not good for either of us."

"I promise." Max replied almost silently as Chloe started the engine pulling out of the school parking lot and heading down toward the main town.


	2. The Drive (Max POV)

The first few minutes of their drive were silent save for the noise of traffic and the wind rushing through the slightly open windows. Max was glad to finally be away from the school for the evening as she had found the place to be stifling this afternoon; the fresh air filling her lungs she started to feel better after her earlier moment of panic.

"Sorry about earlier Chloe. I didn't want to start our night out like that." apologising worried that it had set a sombre tone for the evening.

"Don't worry about it SuperMax, we're all good."

She could tell from the tone Chloe used that she meant it and wasn't just placating her.

"Where are we going by the way? I forgot to ask." Realising they weren't headed in the direction of Two Whales as normal.

"Well... since we never got a chance to properly celebrate you being back in town I thought we might go for a proper meal somewhere tonight rather than bugging my mom like we usually do. I figured she could use a break from us for one day, or at least a break from me." a smirk appeared on Chloe's face.

"What did you do to Joyce?" Max asked, knowing how Chloe can be at times she almost didn't want to know the answer.

"Nothing I swear!" Chloe replied indignantly, the mischievous spark was back in her eyes.

Max raised an eyebrow in response.

"Hey don't look at me like that Caulfield. I know I can be a bit of a bitch on occasion but I've been trying to not antagonise mom too much recently." She said still grinning. "Scouts honour."

"You were never in the scouts and you still haven't answered my question, Che." She replied with a small amount of playful exasperation at Chloe dodging the question.

Chloe sighed for dramatic effect. "If you must know I spent most of my time in the diner feeling kinda sorry for myself since I couldn't harass you for the past few days like I normally do."

Max smiled, somewhat sadly at this. _'As much as she tries to put on a front saying she's fine by herself she really doesn't like being alone even if she knows it's only temporary. She's spent far too much time alone in the past 5 years... I never want her to feel like she's alone again.'_ Again Max tried to put her sadder thoughts to the side and focus on the moment at hand.

"I must've been pissing her off with my constant pacing around and fidgeting since she even suggested I medicate to 'chill the hell out' as she put it." Verbally implying the sarcastic quote marks around her mother's choice of phrasing since both her hands were firmly grasping the steering wheel.

"Well, I better apologise to Joyce then since it's my fault you were flying solo for a few days." Max replied, unable to stop the laugh that bubbled up.

"Damn right hippie, otherwise I might have to start paying for my own breakfast and I'll be damned if that's gonna happen!" Chuckling along with Max, Chloe was happy her attempt to make the younger girl laugh had succeeded. "And to answer your previous question, I'm taking you to Nostrana..."

The name sounded familiar to Max but she couldn't remember why _. 'Wait, wasn't that the fancy Italian place at the edge of town I overheard Victoria talking about with Taylor the other day.'_

"... had to book a table and everything."

Seeing the enthusiasm clearly displayed by Chloe she couldn't help but smile back at her. "I've never been there before but I've heard it's really nice."

"After the week we've been through we deserve to treat ourselves at least once. Besides, I wanted to do something nice for you for a change Max." There was a hint of sadness in her tone and something else that Max couldn't place. "I've never been good at admitting to my mistakes as you know," Even when they were kids Chloe would rarely take the blame when they got into trouble. "but I know that I shoulda been there for you more during all that bullshit, maybe if I had you wouldn't have had to save my selfish ass so many times."

As they stopped for traffic lights Chloe was looking directly forward her face blank but Max could see that her knuckles were white from the vice-like grip of the steering wheel. She twisted in her seat and reached overlaying a hand over Chloe's softly stroking the back of her hand. "Chlo... look at me."

She turned her head but kept her eyes down not quite reaching Max's gaze. "Oh Chloe, please don't ever think like that. You're not selfish at all; you have such a big heart I've seen how much you care about the people in your life. Your dad, Rachel, your mom..." Chloe raised her gaze to meet her own. She could see just how much pain the taller girl normally kept locked away shining in her eyes. _'I hate seeing her so upset; she deserves to be happy again, I just hope I can help her...that I can be good enough for her.'_ "And anytime I've truly needed you, you've been there for me; you believed me no matter what crazy fucked up situations my powers got us into and that meant so much to me, Chloe. You could have easily called me crazy and pushed me away for leaving you but you didn't. I don't think I would have gotten through that week if it wasn't for you."

Pulling her hand from Chloe's, Max wiped away the single tear that was threatening to roll down the other girl's cheek. "You've gone through a lot, we both have and we both need time to heal." Chloe also smiled sniffing slightly as she did. "But for tonight let's forget about all of that, forget that anything and everyone else exists and just be us again."

A beep of a horn sounded from behind them as they realised the lights had already turned green, the two of them having been lost in their own world for a moment. Taking a deep breath Chloe turned her attention back to the road as Max settled back into her seat once more. _'We'll be ok eventually.'_ Max thought _'As long as we have each other.'_

* * *

 *Bzzt**Bzzt* Max heard her phone ring once more, puzzled as to who it could be she reached into her pocket to check.

"Who's it from?" Chloe inquired.

"Warren," Max replied. "He wants to know if I'll go see the new version of Carrie with him this weekend at the drive-in."

"I see. Are you gonna go with Waldo?"

Max smiled at the punk's insistence at calling him anything else but his actual name. "I wouldn't mind seeing a movie but I'm not sure if he still wants it to be more than just a friendly night out."

"The dudes got it bad, Caulfield. He's like a dog with a bone. Hopefully not that sort of bone, though." Max could hear the smirk without even having to look over.

Max groaned "What do I do? I don't want to hurt his feelings but I don't want to give him the wrong impression either."

"Personally I'd just tell him to back off but you know me, not exactly know for subtlety." Came the flippant response.

"Thanks, you've been a great help Chlo." Responding sarcastically as Chloe stuck her tongue out at her.

"You know, there's always another solution." Chloe's tone was light but teasing just as it was when she was trying to entice Max into breaking into the Blackwell swimming pool.

Not really sure she wanted to know what harebrained scheme Chloe would suggest Max responded cautiously. "And what would that be?"

"Well... since you don't want to hurt his feelings by telling him directly that you're not interested, you could just tell him you're already taken."

"Are you cereal? He'd probably want to know who I was seeing. Even if I was willing to lie to him I'm not that good of a liar." Max exclaimed realising how ridiculous the suggestion was.

In the now dimming light, Max could have sworn she saw a slight blush creep over the taller girl and wondered what she was thinking about that could have caused that reaction.

"You could always tell him it was me. I mean I doubt he'd try anything then. Would probably break the poor boy's brain if he thought you were with someone as hot as me." There was a hint of nervousness underneath the teasing tone Chloe used.

Suddenly the words _'I don't think anyone else is good enough for you except for me.'_ _'You know I'm hotter than those Seattle art-holes, right.'_ rang in Max's ears. _'Is it possible that she feels...?'_ Max shook her head ' _you're just projecting Max don't try to see things that aren't there'_.

Taking a moment before responding she thought about hypothetically what everyone's reaction would be to her and Chloe dating. _'Warren would get over it pretty quickly. His text saying I should take Chloe to 'Go Ape' after I kissed her last week shows he would be supportive if that were to happen.'_ She could feel her cheeks flushing at the memory of Chloe lips on hers, however, brief that moment had been. _'Victoria would be her usual bitchy self about it like she was earlier tonight. Kate, Dana, Juliet the rest of them might be surprised since they all thought I was into Warren.'_

Max wasn't seriously considering Chloe's suggestion but decided to play along nonetheless. "Somehow I get the feeling you wouldn't want me to just tell him that, you'd probably want to make out in front of the whole school so everyone knew not just Warren."

"Well if you're offering to let me get to second base with you in public I'm game for that. I can imagine Wally's face if he saw us up against the wall of your dorm building."

Max giggled swatting at the punk's arm. "Chloe!"

"What? You were the one who mentioned sexy times." Chloe replied as they pulled into the parking bay next to the restaurant. Chloe unfastened her seatbelt turning toward her looking for the blush and shy avoidance she had come to expect when she said something like that.

Seeing that Chloe was observing her for a reaction, Max decided to be a little bit more forward than normal _'I might be a shy hipster dork at times but I can play this game too Chloe.'_ Unbuckling herself, she moved along the bench seat and leant into the taller girl, running a finger up and down her tattooed bicep. She could feel Chloe shiver slightly at the touch. Lowering her tone as she spoke, almost whispering in the taller girl's ear. "It'd be even more fun if it were up against the wall of the Blackwell pool." Smirking as she continued. "Play your cards right and maybe later we could go for a midnight swim."

With that, she turned away and exited the truck giggling as she did at the dumbfounded look of her friend face as she headed toward the door of the restaurant.

"Damn Max, you're hardcore."


	3. Dinner and Conversations (Chloe POV)

"Hey wait up!" Chloe hollered after Max as she came back to her senses following the brunettes unexpected but not unwelcome teasing. Shrugging into her jacket she looked over at Max who had stopped a few feet away, noting the self-satisfied smile and the twinkle in her eye, clearly as a result of her successful attempt to fluster the punk. _'Man does she even know what shit like that does to me. Gotta keep my cool though; she's been through so much, the last thing she needs is to deal with whatever this is on top of everything else.'_

Taking off her beanie Chloe scratched her scalp before stuffing the hat into her pocket. The dark blue beanie was almost permanently worn which hid the fact her blue dye was fading further now and her naturally blonde hair was showing through. The chlorine from their visit to the Blackwell pool had caused the die to wear off much faster than normal with only the bottom half of her hair remaining bright blue. Max's eyes were immediately drawn to the top of Chloe's head.

"Got something to say there, nerd?" All she received in reply was a giggle as Max's grin grew larger. Stepping closer to the smaller girl she slipped her arm around Max's shoulder squeezing it gently as they walked toward the restaurant.

Just then Max's stomach growled reminding her she hadn't eaten much all day having spent the majority of it with her head buried in boring textbooks. Max looked slightly embarrassed while Chloe chuckled at how loud it was "Let's head inside and get you fed. Can't have you saving me just so I could let you starve to death can we now."

* * *

The restaurant was fairly small, quiet string instrumental music played in the background, soft lighting along the walls and candles on the tables were the only light sources giving a sense of being cosy and intimate.

"Wowser, Chloe this place looks amazing." Max was surprised that somewhere like this existed in the small fishing town of Arcadia Bay, then again she couldn't remember ever eating anywhere other than the Two Whales before she had left town.

The maitre d' approached them confirming the reservation before leading them over to a secluded table near the back corner. He handed them the menu before taking their drinks order and as Max had consumed far too much soda already during the day, she opted for a glass of water. Chloe, on the other hand, decided to order a beer hoping they wouldn't card considering she was still underage. She was successful; either the server didn't realise or didn't care enough to say anything and left to fetch their drinks.

"Score. Half expected him to ask for ID" Excitement at being able to get away with her plans clear from her hushed exclamation and grin.

Max rolled her eyes worry lacing her tone "Just don't drink too much, ok?. You're driving remember? And I don't want to have to rewind while in the truck. I've never tried to so I'm not sure what would happen."

"Hey… I'm only gonna have the one I promise." Chloe replied taking hold of one of Max's hands across the table "I don't intend to give you a reason to use your powers tonight." Chloe frowned, annoyed at herself _'Need to stop doing things that make her worry like that idiot. You know she worries about shit like that since... since she told me what happened with that other version of me.'_ The return of the server with their drinks shook Chloe from her thoughts.

They ordered their meals; Chloe choosing the biggest pizza she could find on the menu, Max, the carbonara. Chloe looked down at their hands still touching across the table and brushed her thumb gently across the back of Max's knuckles. She noticed how warm she felt from just the small amount of contact; only once their food arrived did she let go.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing the various things that Chloe had been up to in the two days they had been apart. Max talked about her classmates and that she was looking forward to Kate returning soon. Neither of them had realised how much time had passed, too engrossed in their conversation, simply happy being a part of each other's lives again. It wasn't until they were informed the restaurant would be closing soon that they noted how long they had been there.

"How about we go find somewhere to just chill and get some fresh air for a while?" Chloe asked not wanting to end their evening now.

"That sounds good. Maybe we could go up to the lighthouse?" Max suggested since the night was reasonably warm and dry. Happy that Max also wanted to continue their evening Chloe settled the bill much to Max's surprise as she refused to split it saying the meal was her treat.

* * *

They left the restaurant and headed toward the other side of the town to the lighthouse, stopping along the way so Chloe could pick up some smokes and snacks; clearly, she still had a bottomless pit of a stomach if she was still hungry after eating that gigantic pizza. Grabbing some gummy candy that she felt would satisfy her sweet tooth and her usual brand of cigarettes they continued on their way.

As the pair made their way up to the lookout on the cliff top Max stopped just as they climbed the final set of steps leading up to the bench overlooking the town. The lighthouse had seemed so important in the visions and the bizarre nightmare Max had experienced across those eventful five days. All of the week's events leading her to this spot only to have it end rather anti-climactically when it was all said and done.

When Chloe reached the bench she noticed Max had fallen behind. "Max?" She was concerned about the younger girl as they hadn't been up here since Max had collapsed as the storm raged overhead. _'Maybe coming up here wasn't such a good idea? She never really told me what happened when she blacked out down on the beach, the only thing she said is that it wasn't one of her visions. Maybe that's what's freaking her out.'_

"I'm alright, just weird to think that it's over." Max spoke quietly holding her elbow as she looked around not really focusing on anything in particular. Even with her diminutive stature, she looked even smaller than normal if that was possible with a somewhat lost expression on her face as all the memories from the week before flashed through her mind.

While the tornado had never come to pass she still felt drawn to this spot. It had been the place she and Chloe had played pirates as children; a carved message in a nearby tree had been left as a permanent reminder to the world of their existence. More recently and most importantly, it was where they had reconnected opening up to each other once more about the hurt they both experienced during their five-year separation and where she had told Chloe about her powers.

"It _is_ over Max." Chloe replied matching the hushed tone trying to comfort the photographer "We survived. We got justice for Rachel, David busted Jeffershit and Nathan for all the sick shit they did," the punk swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she felt her emotions surge in response seeing Max looking upset "and you hella saved me, Max. I'll never forget that." She brushed a loose strand of hair back behind Max's ear letting her hand slide down resting along her jaw.

There were tears welling up in Max's eyes, she closed them tight trying to prevent them from falling as she looped her arms around Chloe's waist and hid her face in the taller girls shirt. Chloe rubbed her back in a reassuring motion with one hand while the other was threaded through Max's hair holding her close.

"Please talk to me," Chloe asked not wanting to see her friend upset. No response was heard. "I can't help you if you don't let me in."

Minutes passed before Max spoke again, her grip on Chloe relaxing somewhat. "I keep thinking that this is a dream that I'm just living in denial right now" her voice became strained as she tried to hold back the floodgates "and that I'll wake up at any moment and the t-tornado will be here and that you... that you..." fresh tears rolled down her freckled face and she sobbed out the rest of her words. "That you'll still be d-dead and that I-I... can't save you from him, from any of it."

Max once again burrowed into the punks shirt her hands grasped desperately at the back of her jacket. Chloe immediately grabbed the smaller girl in a fiercely protective embrace feeling her heart ache at the obvious pain in Max's voice. "Max," she started slowly "you've tried to be so strong, for everyone, for me. You helped me start to deal with so much pain and anger I've been holding onto these last 5 years. I never had anyone to turn to after Dad died, after Rachel disappeared, but since you came back I've felt things I haven't felt in years. You made me smile and laugh again and for once I feel like I have something worth holding onto and worth fighting for." Chloe felt tears falling down her own face as she continued. "You saved me and gave me a chance at a future with you in it. You're my hero, my SuperMax."

As time passed, Chloe continued to hold onto Max, well beyond the point her sobbing had ceased. "I will always be here for you Max. You don't need to pretend you're fine if you aren't. Not with me OK?" She felt Max nodding against her chest still holding onto her, nowhere near as desperately now but still firmly as if she needed to be reassured that Chloe was not simply going to fade out of existence."I'm not going anywhere, Max. I'll always be with you." _'Forever.'_


	4. Back to Blackwell (Chloe POV)

Chloe held Max for what seemed like hours only releasing her once the younger girl pulled back from the embrace. Helping her wipe away the tears that remained as they moved over to the bench they had sat on so many times before. The two sat side by side, as close together as was possible taking comfort in the others presence. Chloe placed her left arm around Max's shoulders allowing the shorter girl to lay her head on her own shoulder before tilting her head resting her cheek atop Max's head.

Silence had fallen over the pair as they stared out over the bay in the cool night's air, the sky was empty of any clouds, stars shining brightly in the dark. There was no sign of any of the bizarre weather Arcadia Bay had experienced, the shore had been cleared of the whales which had found themselves beached and the damage to the town repaired. Life had returned to normal, however, the memories of that week remained.

For Max, it felt like a weight had been lifted after letting out the stress and worry she had been feeling ever since she had first seen Chloe shot in the bathroom. She hadn't realised just how much her fear of not being able to save her, of never seeing her or hearing her voice again had been affecting her.

Chloe shifted slightly as she reached into her jacket pulling out the gummy candy she had bought earlier. Trying in vain to open the packet one handed as she refused to remove her arm from around Max's shoulders.

"N-need a hand?" Max asked her voice still a little raw but a small smile now evident.

Chloe looked down at Max upon hearing her croaky voice. Her eyes were still a little red and puffy from crying but there was no longer the panicked expression. She smiled back at Max before handing the packet over "Thanks."

Max opened the bag and taking a piece of candy as a reward before handing it back to Chloe. Resting the bag on her thigh Chloe removed a few pieces. Spotting a ring-shaped gummy in the handful, an idea popped into her head. _'Gotta be a bit of a dork for this to work. But tbh I would happily throw away any punk-cred I have if it makes her smile again tonight.'_

"Max?" She asked to get the photographers attention, waiting till she turned to face her. "Remember that text I sent you after we went to the junkyard." Max looked at her slightly confused. "The one after the whole Frank and the gun thing?"

 _'God damn it, Caulfield, you are oblivious sometimes.'_ Chloe thought as Max still didn't seem to understand which text she was referring to. _'Although considering what happened when you got back to school I can get why she might have forgotten.'_ "You know, 'Max, the Boss with the Gun', ringing any bells?" Chloe continued

"Oh yeah, I remember now." Max spoke up, now understanding which particular message her friend was talking about. Chloe had jokingly asked Max to marry her suggesting they elope since it was currently illegal in Oregon.

"Well, I've been thinking. You never really did give me an answer to my question." Chloe kept her tone light smirking as she spoke. _'You always look so damn cute when you're confused.'_ Although Max understood which text they were discussing she clearly still didn't get what Chloe was up to.

She twisted round so she was facing Max more but still close enough to keep in contact, her hand only reaching the back of Max's neck which she softly caressed with her thumb. Her right hand closed around the gummy ring keeping it hidden.

"Maxine Caulfield, time warrior," Chloe started, grinning widely as she spoke in a dramatic fashion "the boss with the gun, my partner in crime and time, my hero-" It was at that point Chloe opened her hand revealing the candy ring "-will you marry me?"

Max looked wide-eyed at the ring Chloe was holding and took a moment to recognise that it was, in fact, a piece of candy, feeling a blush take over her cheeks as she realised that Chloe was being as ridiculous as possible on purpose.

"Oh my dog, Che!" Max replied, finding herself giggling as she locked eyes with the bluenette. She leant forward and placed a quick kiss on Chloe's cheek hugging her.

"So is that a yes?" Chloe asked raising an eyebrow at the kiss. _'I should do shit like this more often if it gets me that sort of reaction.'_

Max nodded still giggling at the punk's antics. "Of course it is."

Chloe removed her hand from behind Max's neck and taking hold of her left hand before sliding the gummy ring onto Max's finger. "Can't get rid me now Caulfield. You're stuck with me for life."

The genuine smile that reached even her eyes made Chloe feel warm inside. She loved being able to make the younger girl smile and had developed a knack for knowing what would cheer her up over their many years together as children. _'A captain has to know how to keep her crew happy, especially her first mate.'_ She smiled contentedly as they relaxed back into their previous position, her arm around Max as she rested her head against her shoulder once more.

* * *

 

It was way past midnight when they eventually made their way down from the lighthouse back to the truck.

"Did you have fun tonight all things considered?" Chloe asked _'You know, besides the crying part. Open mouth, insert foot, Price.'_

"I did. I didn't realise how badly we needed to have a night together like this without any drama. I am sorry I soaked your shirt, though." Max answered honestly, a small yawn escaping after she had finished.

"Hey... Don't worry bout the shirt, s'long as you're okay. I guess I should do the sensible thing and take you back the school, huh?" She knew their night would end eventually as it was mid-week and whilst she didn't have anything she needed to be awake until the afternoon, Max certainly had other responsibilities.

"Yeah, I probably should get back so I can get some rest. I have a science test tomorrow morning and Ms Grant will kick my ass if I'm not there." Max explained.

Nudging Max's shoulder Chloe replied, "As you faithful chauffeur and companion I will ensure your safe return to Black-hell post-haste."

* * *

 

Walking past the pool building on their way from the parking lot to the dorm Chloe recalled Max's offer from earlier in the night _'Pity she was just teasing me. She looked so damn cute that night we broke in. It felt like we were the only two people in the universe and nothing else existed for a moment… Just a shame Step-Douche had to interrupt us. Speaking of...'_ Her thoughts trailed off as she spotted David walking through the entrance to the dorm area in the distance.

"Is that David over there?" she heard Max ask, having also seen David appear from the top of the steps leading to the dorms.

"Yeah looks like it. Reckon he'd let us just go on by or should we go all Blackwell ninja on his ass again?" The cogs were already turning in Chloe's head as she tried to plan out how they could sneak past him _'Maybe over the wall? How big is the drop on the other side again?'_

"I'm out past curfew, assuming he hasn't already reported it we should try to not get caught. I don't want to hear Principle Wells' speech about student safety again." After Jefferson had been arrested the school had instituted a curfew of 22:00 for the senior students and mandatory detention sessions for those who broke this rule. Max had already been subject to it last week when she had snuck out to get some fresh air after spending the day being interviewed by the police and the feds.

Coming up with a plan that didn't involve potentially injuring either of them from fall damage took Chloe a few moments. "We're too exposed here, not enough cover. He'd spot us before we reached the gate. We should head round the back taking the higher ground on the east side it'll give us a better spot to observe his patrol path."

Max snorted hearing the military style speak from the punk.

"What? You got a better idea?" Chloe asked confused as to what Max was laughing at.

"It's just that... well..." Max wasn't sure if what she was about to say would be appreciated but figured Chloe would see the funny side of it too. "You sound a little bit like him just now. It's kinda funny."

Looking at Max she blinked slowly "You've got a hella screwed up sense of humour there Maxine."

"Sorry but it's true." came the not so apologetic in tone response nudging the taller girl as she spoke.

Rolling her eyes Chloe grabbed Max's elbow and pulled her back toward the parking lot "C'mon, let's go before he comes back this way."

* * *

 

Thankfully they had been able to enter the dorm area from the east side without being caught after David had looped back around to the main quad as part of his patrol route. Passing by Tobanga they rushed to the dorm door to get inside before anyone else had the chance to see them out in the open.

As they climbed the stairs to the senior dorms Max explained: "We need to be quiet, everyone is likely asleep at this point." She led Chloe along the hallway toward her room pausing at the door to take out her keys. This was the first time Chloe had been to her dorm room, she was nervous of what her friend would think of the place she currently called home.

Entering the room she removed her hoodie throwing it over her chair and turned on the lamp by her desk, the small amount of light it generated illuminating the room enough for them both to see.

Chloe looked around the small space noting the acoustic guitar leaning on the arm of the couch, a large pile of books open at various pages having been recently used. A cage containing a small white rabbit with a black patch over one eye sat at the other end of the couch.

Over on the desk, she spotted a bunch of post-it notes with random memos about time travel and tornados scribbled on them. Next to the desk was a message board with some old family photos and a few polaroids Max had taken over the last couple of weeks. Chloe smiled seeing the pictures of herself that Max had chosen to display. A photo of her dancing on her bed from the day they met back up, the two of them in bed the morning after breaking into Blackwell and one of her flipping of the camera, joint between her lips, smoke surrounding her like a haze. _'Girls got talent, knows how to make me look good.'_

She turned around to see Max's bed completely surrounded by photos of various people and locations she didn't recognise, but the one photo she did recognise was in a wooden frame on the bedside table. It was an image she hadn't seen in years as Max had the only copy of this particular picture.

"Wow, dude. You still have this photo?" Chloe was surprised that Max had held onto it let alone kept it so close. The photo showed the two girls in their younger days dressed in pirate gear for Halloween nearly six years prior.

"I love that picture of us. Do you remember that day? We went trick or treating even though we were the oldest kids in the neighbourhood." Max stepped closer to Chloe who had now picked up the framed image.

"I do," Chloe said her voice soft without her usual bravado behind it. "it was our last Halloween together before you..." leaving the rest of her sentence unfinished she moved over to the couch sitting down, continuing to stare at the photo. _'Pull yourself together; stop getting so hella mushy over a fucking photo.'_ she tried to tell herself taking a deep breath to calm her emotions before she spoke. "I missed you so damn much Max." _'I don't think I could take it if you left me again... I need you.'_ She placed the photo down beside her on the couch leaning back letting her head rest against the wall behind closing her eyes for a moment.

Max moved closer kneeling in front of the punk taking her hands in her own causing Chloe to open her eyes and look at the smaller girl in front of her. Max knew that the pain from their time apart still ran deep and they were only just starting to heal after dealing with the most difficult week of their young lives. She also knew that the taller girl needed the same sort of reassurance she had sought earlier.

"Chloe, I missed you too. The last five years weren't easy, on either of us and it kills me to think that you were all alone dealing with everything that you have. I wish I could have been there but there is no way that I change that much history without fucking things up again, but what I can promise you right now is that I need you in my life and I will never leave you again. Not now, not ever."

Chloe looked down at her hands still in Max's hold. She smiled when she realised Max was still wearing the gummy ring she had 'proposed' with earlier. _'I wish I could tell her how much I want that moment to be real.'_ Shaking her head slightly at her thoughts _'I know I said Waldo had it bad but look at me I've got it even worse for my not so shy anymore hipster.'_

"Don't get all mushy on me now Caulfield." Chloe said as she pulled herself and Max to their feet before taking a step back. "Um... I should probably go. Let you get to bed." Chloe didn't really want to go but she didn't want to risk blurting out her feelings with how open they had been that night.

As she turned and stepped toward the door Max caught her wrist in a firm grasp tugging her back to face her. "Don't go, Che, stay with me tonight."

Unable to refuse, and as much as her inner voice was telling her to go before she did or said anything stupid, Chloe nodded not trusting herself to speak and let Max take the lead.

While Max was busy with her night routine, Chloe sat on Max's bed having already taken off her boots, jeans and beanie. The brighter desk lamp had been switch off and the small bedside lamp turned on instead leaving half the room in shadow.

"Your bed is kinda small to be sharing, you sure you don't want me to sleep on the couch?" Chloe asked half hoping the photographer wouldn't let her be as chivalrous as her offer was intended to be.

"Don't be silly." Max replied as she finished preparing her books for the classes she had in the morning. Sauntering toward the bed she took a seat on the edge, smiling playfully as she looked at the punk. "Now do you wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon?"

Chloe couldn't hold back the snort of laughter at the question. "You're far too short to the big spoon Tiny-Tim." As she spoke she moved back, stretching out near the wall allowing Max to lie down beside her. "Your knees would be in my kidneys all night."

Max pulled the covers over them both and turned out the small lamp plunging them into darkness. She settled down into a comfortable position her back facing the punk, Chloe, however, remained still unsure if she should reach out.

"Hey Chlo, you gonna be the big spoon or not?" Max had turned her head slightly looking over her shoulder; even in the dim light, she could see there was some hesitation from the taller girl. "C'mere" taking the punk's arm she pulled it over her waist lacing their fingers together.

At this, the punk scooted closer her arm more securely wrapping around the smaller girl. She could swear her heart was beating hard enough that Max would feel it thudding against her back. "Is this ok?" Chloe asked cautiously not wanting to do something that might make Max uncomfortable.

"Yeah s'good." came the sleepy response as Max succumbed to her fatigue.

For Chloe, the rest of the room faded away as she felt the now familiar warmth starting in her deep within her chest. She wrapped her arm tighter around the brunette and closed her eyes allowing herself to drift off with a single thought running through her head, _'Do you feel this too Max?'_


	5. Waking Up (Max POV)

With the morning light starting to brighten the room Max stirred from her slumber. Still deeply in a state of somnolence, she was content to simply lie there and enjoy the last few precious moments of rest before she had to start her day.

Slowly becoming aware of her surroundings as the minutes ticked by she realised a few things, firstly, that she could feel a soft tickling sensation on the back of her neck in a slow rhythmic fashion, secondly, a quiet intermittent snoring could also be heard behind her, and lastly, that she was being held. Feeling safe and warm she continued to put off her normal morning routine for a few more minutes.

Once the last of the fog of sleepiness cleared Max remembered who it was that she was sharing her bed with. _'Chloe...'_ A smile formed on her lips at the thought of the girl who had held her through the night. Attempting to turn around to look at the taller girl Max realised that she was completely wrapped in Chloe's longer limbs; an arm placed protectively around the smaller girl pulling her back against her longer torso and at some point during the night Chloe had shifted so their legs had tangled together.

' _As much as I would love to stay, I have to get up.'_ "Chloe?" Max spoke quietly as to not shock the sleeping punk but loud enough to try to rouse her. "Chloe I need to get up for school."

"Mmmhhg dg" came the gibberish response as Chloe let out a small whimper before shifting again, allowing Max to turn around as their legs were no longer tangled. _'She looks so peaceful.'_ The punk's normal tense expression was nowhere to be seen. _'I hate to have to wake her but I really should get ready. Grr, why did Ms Grant have to have a mandatory test first period?'_

"Chlo-e, Chlo-e. Wakey wakey" speaking lightly trying once more the wake her. When no further response was received she spoke again, this time at her normal volume. "Che, I really need to get up. For cereal."

At the louder disturbance, Chloe tightened her grip pulling Max toward her and snaking her other arm around the younger girl's body holding her more firmly to her than before. Max felt her heartbeat speed up realising how close Chloe's face was to hers, at just how little she would need to move for their lips to meet, at the feeling of their bodies pressed against each other, especially when she felt Chloe's hand gently caressing small circles at the base of her spine just under the hem of her shirt. _'Mm, that feels good but I need to get up. She's asleep and doesn't realise what she's doing.'_ Max's face was flushed red from the heat these sensations were stirring in her but also from the embarrassment that she was allowing this to continue beyond the point where she could just excuse herself as simply being shocked by the touch. Reluctantly she pulled away from the embrace and got out of bed hoping that Chloe wouldn't see how flustered she was.

While sorting out her outfit for the day Max heard the punk moving around.

"M-max?" Chloe croaked out, her eyes opening ever so slightly in the now bright dorm. "What time is it?"

Grabbing her shower supplies and a towel Max moved back over sitting on the edge of the bed. She combed her fingers through Chloe's blue and blonde hair _'She's never was a morning person but she's so cute when she's sleepy.'_ smiling down at her. "It's 8 am. I need to have a shower and get ready for school. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Alright..." Chloe nodded, yawning before sitting up beside the photographer, lazily leaning against her for a second. "I'll just hang out here and wake up a bit first then I'll walk you to class."

* * *

As she approached the shower room she could hear various voices and music playing from some of the rooms around her. Entering the bathroom she saw Dana was already there just finishing up her own morning routine.

"Hey, Max!" Dana was always chirpy in the morning and smiled brightly at Max.

"Hi, Dana." Max replied a little more sedately. She caught sight of herself in the mirror. _'At least I had a better sleep last night than I've had in the last few days. Still look like a zombie though.'_

"So where did you run off to last night?" Dana asked concerned having seen Max heading off campus the night before. "Juliet and I were worried since you didn't come back before curfew."

"I was out with a friend, we just lost track of time up at the lighthouse." Max reassured her.

"Oh! By the way, I meant to say to you yesterday, we're planning a Halloween party for next Saturday. Please come out with us this time, Max, I promise it'll be fun." Dana pleaded. "You can't let me down after you no-showed at the Vortex Club party."

"But I did g-" Max started to say before she paused for a second _'That's right I never actually went in this timeline.'_ She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. _'I really need to check with Chloe what the hell happened that night after I popped back to the present. Maybe I better check what did and didn't happen the whole week while I'm at it, just in case I put my foot in it again.'_ "Well, I made it to the door before leaving again. That counts as going right?" Hoping she had covered up her mistake.

"Come on Max. You need to get out and socialise, we don't bite promise you. Please say you'll come. You could totally go with Warren, I'm sure you and he could come up with some fun geeky costumes too. It'll be like a double date with me and Trevor."

"I don't think I'd go with Warren, to be honest." Max replied still not sure if she even wanted to go to another party so soon after how the last one had ended.

"How come? I thought you were totally into him. He definitely likes you."

Sighing Max replied "He's just a friend. I don't see him as anything more." She remembered for a second the version of Warren from her blackout nightmare. _'He's not that bad but I just don't want that sort of attention from him.'_ "Besides, I kinda like someone else..."

"Oooh, do tell Max. Was it the 'friend' you were out with last night." She could see the cogs turning in Dana's head trying to work out who it could be. _'Shit, probably shouldn't have mentioned that last part. I could rewind but I shouldn't be wasting it on small stuff anymore. Let's just get back to the topic and hopefully she drops it.'_

Shaking her head she replied. "Not that easy to get info out of me I'm afraid. You're no Juliet Watson after all." Max shrugged at the challenging look Dana gave. "Hey, would it be ok if I was to bring my friend Chloe to the party instead?"

"Of course it is Max. I think I remember her. She's the girl with the blue hair used to skate with Trevor and Justin, right?"

Max nodded, the same slightly dopey smile she always had when talking about Chloe forming. "Yeah she used to hang out with them when she went to Blackwell, she could always outskate them from what I've heard." _'I hope she still has her board. I'd love to see her in action again.'_

There was a momentary flash of realisation in Dana's eyes that Max wasn't sure if she'd imagined.

"It's a date then. Why don't you let your girl know and I'll get Trevor to organise with Justin. We can meet up before the party starts to chill for a bit. I'll text you later with the details ok?" She said while making her way toward the door.

One part of what Dana had exited on jumped out at Max _'My girl?'_

* * *

Taking a quick shower so as not to keep Chloe waiting long Max headed back to her dorm room still in her night clothes. As she reached the door she could hear faintly the sounds of a guitar being strummed. Listening in she couldn't tell what was being played but it did sound familiar. _'Is that Chloe playing?'_

She opened the door and saw on the couch that it was indeed Chloe now fully dressed sitting there with her guitar in hand focusing intensely, a half-remembered chord progression playing in her mind as she did. When she spotted Max entering the room she paused. "Hey."

"I didn't know you could play."

Chloe smirked before putting the guitar down. "I can't play much, just a few songs I really wanted to learn. Never had the patience to learn properly though."

Max sat down beside her as she asked "What song were you playing, it seems really familiar but I can't place it. It's giving me a proper nostalgia trip whatever it is."

There was a slight pause before she answered. "Obstacles by Syd Matters, we used to listen to it in Dad's car when he'd pick us up from school." fiddling with the ring on her right hand, which had been her father's wedding band. "I haven't played it in years though so I'm a bit rusty. Sorry"

With this, Max leant over and hugged the taller girl "It was beautiful Che." She felt Chloe return the hug briefly before separating.

"I should get you to play for me instead." Chloe suggested.

While Max was confident in her playing abilities she was still a little shy about performing for anyone, even if it was Chloe. "Maybe another day? I don't think I'm awake enough right now to play properly."

Chloe smiled understanding Max's reluctance. "I'm gonna hold you that Caulfield. You're not gonna get out of serenading me."

Max could feel her cheeks flushing and turned away from the punk as she got up from the couch. She grabbed her clothes for the day laying them out on the bed

"Dana invited us to the Halloween party next week with her. She wants to hang out beforehand with Trevor and Justin."

"God, dude, you know I'm not a fan of school parties, especially after the shit storm that was the Vortex Club party"

' _She's right that wasn't exactly a fun time as much as I wished we could have just been normal teens for the night, this time, we will be and we can just forget about all that bullshit'_

"Please Chlo, it'll be fun. I mean, it's not a Vortex party. It's Dana who's organising it, and Justin and Trevor will be there. So if you want, we can always just chill with them". Max was babbling a little bit excited at the prospect of having a proper Halloween with the punk for the first time in 6 years.

Spotting the photo of them she had looked at the night before, now back on the bedside table, Chloe knew she'd have to agree. "Fine I'll go, but only if we can go as pirates."

* * *

After eventually getting ready they made their way outside. Max grabbed Chloe's hand as they walked across the courtyard smiling happily when she felt Chloe gently squeeze her hand back lacing their fingers together.

"What are you doing later? My classes finish at 4 pm." Max asked hoping they could hang out again after class. The response she received was not something she ever expected the punk to say.

"Unfortunately, I have to work."

Max's surprise at the answer she had received caused her to stop walking for a moment. "Work!? When the hell did you get a job?"

Chloe chuckled at the shocked expression on the younger girls face before tugging her along to keep on walking toward the school building. "Well being broke ain't exactly fun. Though to be honest it's just to help out Mom since she lent me some cash for our night out. One of the dishwashers broke his arm at the weekend so I agreed to work a couple of shifts at the diner to pay her back. Sucks all sorts of balls though since I gotta work till ten."

"Want me to drop by after class, keep you company on your lunch break?" Max asked stopping again just in front of the steps to the main doors.

"That'd be great, save me from getting bored." Chloe pulled her hand away fixing her beanie. "You better get inside. Don't want you getting into trouble with Ms G; she used to go mental when I would show up late."

Max paused for a moment taking a quick look around. Seeing no one was paying them much attention and feeling braver than normal, she stepped forward placing her hands on Chloe's shoulders lifting herself up onto her tip toes bringing them closer together. She felt Chloe's hands settle on her hips steadying her, the warm feeling at the contact she had felt earlier that morning returned.

She leant in closer; her heart beating in her throat, as she closed the final gap between them bringing her lips to the punk's kissing her. The kiss lasted only a moment, not much longer than the one they shared previously, before pulling back not wanting to take things too far. She was nervous to look at Chloe in case she had overstepped. Seeing the soft but surprised expression she relaxed. "I'll see you later ok?" running her hands down the older girls arms from her shoulders to her hands.

"Yeah..." came the breathy reply from the punk as Max walked slowly backwards still keeping eye contact for as long as possible until she had to turn around and climb the steps to the main door.

* * *

At school, Max could barely focus on her test and instead found herself daydreaming. Her mind drifted firstly to Chloe, _'There's a spark between us, every time we touch, when we... kiss._ ' her face threatened to break into a grin as she recalled the earlier contact. ' _Surely, she feels it too. The look in her eye when she 'proposed', the way she held me last night, the way she smiles at me, all those little looks and touches, making sure I'm ok. I know there's something here, but I just don't know if either of us are ready for it to go any further.'_

' _Chloe can be so sweet. She's always been like that with me; I don't think many people know just how caring and gentle she can be underneath the abrasive shell she puts up around others.'_

Looking once more at the test paper in front of her she sighed heavily realising she would probably not be getting any more than a C if she was lucky. Letting her thoughts wander once more she recalled Dana's earlier comment as well as Victoria's the night before _'At least I know if we were to take things further that it wouldn't be a big deal for people. We're so close already but I need more. I need my partner in crime and time to be my partner in life as well.'_


	6. Conversations with the Dead

Chloe lay on her bed enjoying her morning smoke, relaxing after her long shift at the diner the night a deep drag and lazily exhaling smoke from her nose and mouth, she couldn't help the smile that came to her as she remembered Max showing up. When the diner was quiet and Chloe could take a break there had been a lot of hugging and playful looks between them _._ Joyce had even let her finish a little early so she could take Max back to Blackwell before curfew.

When they got to the door of the dorm building Max had looked up at her with that dopey bright-eyed smile that could turn her to mush in an instant, _'She was all shy and cute. She coulda asked me to jump off a cliff right there and then. Shit, probably would've done it too.'_ Her self-control lacking at that moment, she had reached out pulling smaller girl closer, arms looping around her waist as Max's hands ended up braced against her shoulders again as she leant in wanting to feel her soft lips against her own once more.

Sitting up and shifting to lean back against the wall she stubbed out the remains of her joint. Staring at nothing in particular, her eyes drifted over to the wallboard on the other side of the room. The item that caught her attention was a photo of Rachel and herself, taken at Blackwell before her expulsion. Immediately, any happiness Chloe had been feeling at the events of the previous day left her, as a feeling of guilt took up residence in its place, twisting in her gut.

Hauling herself out of bed she headed downstairs, the sounds and smells of Joyce cooking breakfast filling the house outside her room. Muttering a greeting to her mother she took a seat at the dining table, slouching as much as the chair allowed. Rubbing her face to try and bring herself out of her fuzzy state of mind she didn't hear Joyce approaching with a cup of coffee.

Joyce set the coffee down and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly "You alright darlin'?"

Chloe just nodded in response, not quite able to look at her mother, instead focusing on the cup in front of her. She slowly picked up the coffee, taking a sip before putting it back down.

Joyce was concerned for her daughter. Ever since Max had returned, she had seemed happier and more carefree than she had ever been in the last five years, however, this morning it was as though she had been transported back in time to a month ago when Chloe would often appear to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. She returned to the kitchen to finish making breakfast knowing she would need to give her time before she was ready to talk.

Once cooked, Joyce plated up the pancakes and bacon bringing them over to the table, placing a large stack in front of Chloe, however, her normally ravenous daughter barely noticed instead taking another sip of coffee, a distant look in her eyes.

"Chloe, honey?" Joyce asked taking the seat opposite Chloe. "Did something happen between you and Max?"

Chloe's eyes narrowed slightly at the question. _'Yeah... But probably not what you think.'_ Looking up at Joyce she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Oh sweetheart, there's only ever been one person who has been able to affect you like this. You were all smiles and laughter last night before you took her home."

Chloe paused considering what to say that would satisfy her mother without having to get into what was going through her mind. _'I can't deal with this right now.'_ She opened her mouth to reply when the front door opened and closed loudly _'Saved by Sgt Pepper.'_

Joyce rose from the table to welcome David home, leaving Chloe with her thoughts. She could hear them talking as they entered the kitchen but wasn't really interested in their conversation. Continuing to drink her coffee she considered the meal before her, however, despite having already waked and baked this morning her appetite was nowhere to be found.

Continuing to drink her coffee in silence, she scowled into it when David joined her at the table, her mother returning to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee for her husband and plate up the rest of the breakfast.

"Mornin'." David greeted her as he reached for the syrup, pouring some over the pancakes in front of him. "I saw your truck at the school the other night there. It was still there in the morning and I know Max was out past curfew as well."

"So?" the punk responded, glaring at him. _'What the fuck you gonna try and accuse me of now. Thought we were past this shit.'_

"I just don't want to see the two of you getting into trouble. The school is still a little sensitive after what's happened." He explained, trying not to cause the situation to become an argument as similar conversations had in the past.

"Did you report her?" Chloe asked remembering Max had mentioned detention as a punishment for breaking curfew.

"After what she's done for the school and the town, finding out what that sick fuck Jefferson was up to, she deserves some slack. I can overlook it this time but don't make it a regular thing. I won't be able to cover for you pair all the time."

Chloe nodded, prompting David to raise an eyebrow as he had been expecting more of a response from the usually antagonistic punk. While they were on better terms than they had been at the start of the month, he still wasn't used to there not being a shouting match between them at the slightest disagreement. Finishing up his meal he excused himself from the table heading upstairs to bed.

As Joyce cleared the plates and cups from the table she could see that Chloe had barely touched her breakfast. "Your food's getting cold." A shrug was all she received in response. "You really should eat something; you need to be at work this afternoon and today will be busier than last night."

Rather than argue Chloe picked up her fork and forced herself to eat a few pieces of bacon chewing slowly.

"Honey, I worry about you when you get quiet like this. I know that you've been through a lot, what with finding out about your friend like that, and lord knows you don't talk to me, but you need to talk to someone."

"Mom, I..." She sat for a moment picking at her pancakes, Joyce waiting patiently. _'I need to get out of here'._ "I can't do this right now." She pushed her plate away and stood up from the table running toward the front door grabbing her keys as she went.

* * *

She had driven out of town, originally intending to visit the junkyard as her usual home away from home, however, the location had lost its appeal in the previous weeks. She briefly considered going to see Frank and getting as high as possible so she didn't have to think, but ruled that out knowing it wouldn't lead to anything good considering she still had to be at work later.

Getting further out of town her mother's comment _'you need to talk to someone.'_ was still floating around her mind. As a child, if she was upset she'd have talked to Max or her Dad, as a teenager, Rachel had been the one she went to, until her disappearance 6 months ago. Even though Max was now back, she didn't feel that she should burden her further, especially when part of the issue involved her. As though the universe could hear her thoughts, she spotted a sign on the side of the road indicating the turn off for the town cemetery; she knew then who she needed to talk to.

* * *

The air was calm if a bit chilly as Chloe exited her truck. With the cemetery being quite a way outside of the main town there was very little background noise, the only sound coming from the slight rustling of the trees and occasional bird tweeting.

She walked over to an older part of the grounds, stopping once she reached her father's plot. It was a double plot originally bought by William and Joyce when they had gotten married. Chloe took a deep breath remembering that on several occasions in recent weeks she could have ended up sharing the plot. _'At least three I can remember, probably a shit ton more too.'_

"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you since your birthday. I should visit you more often." Chloe apologised, taking off her beanie and sitting down in front of the grave where her father lay. "I miss you, Dad."

She sat in silence for a moment before speaking again. "I don't think I'll ever not miss you. It still hurts knowing your gone..." she could feel tears forming "but not as much as it used to, at least not since Max came back."

"She finally came back to me and brought back a piece of me that was missing all these years." Her lips tugged into a small smile as she continued "You should see her now, she can still be the same shy cute little dork sometimes, but she's grown up into a total bad ass superhero, and she hella saved my life."

"She's been through so much." _'Because of me'_ "She even tried to bring you back..." She trailed off remembering the consequences Max had told her about when they had run away from the Vortex Club Party the previous week.

"I love her Dad." Wiping away a few of the tears that had escaped, "I've loved her since we were kids and I can't bear the thought of losing her if again but I don't know if I even deserve to have her in my life after everything I've put her through."

"I want to tell her, to be with her, but..." She was fidgeting picking at the fabric of her jeans as she spoke. "I can't help but feel like I'm betraying Rachel's memory by moving on so quickly."

"I wish you were here, so you could tell me what to do."

She sat for a few minutes longer before laughing slightly, "Did you ever think when I was growing up that one day I'd be asking you for advice on women, especially when one of them is Max."

She spent a few more moments sitting quietly before rising to her feet and dusting herself off. "I have to go visit Rachel now, but I'll visit again soon I promise. I know Max would want to see you too. I love you, Dad."

* * *

Standing now in front of a newly laid headstone at the far side of the cemetery, she scuffed her foot against the ground and nervously scratched the back of her head.

"Hey, Rach... I'm sorry I wasn't here for your funeral. Didn't think your parents would've wanted me or Frank there, and I didn't want to cause any arguments." Instead she and Frank had watched from afar before visiting the junkyard to have their own memorial. "Bet you never would have thought Frank and I would speak to each other let alone bond over you. I can see now why you liked him."

Feeling the anger of finding out about their secret relationship try to surface, "I just wish you would have told me the truth though!" Sighing deeply, she swallowed down the feelings she knew would not help her right now. _'I need to let go of this anger.'_

It was a minute later before she continued. "I don't know if you're around, if you've been watching over things, but we got the fuckers, Rach, we got them. Jeffershit is going to jail for the rest of his life and Nathan is dead and buried!"

"You remember Max? I told you about her being in Seattle. She came back." Chloe ran a shaky hand through her hair and sighed deeply. "I, um… I wasn't able to find you, but she did. It was all her; she found out what was going on and tracked down the Dark Room. She's a real superhero with super powers and everything." Her vision grew blurrier as she spoke. _'I need to tell her.'_

"Rach, there's something I need to tell you." Swallowing with difficulty she carried on. "I feel horrible, and I hope you can forgive me, but I can't live with the question of 'what if' hanging over me." She could feel her battle to hold back the tears was failing. "All those feelings I had for Max over the last five years never left me, and now she's back." _'And I didn't at least have the decency to wait till I'd even found out what happened to you before...'_

"I tried to pretend that I was over her, that I could give you what you needed... but I know now I never could. I'm sorry if you ever felt you weren't enough for me or that I wasn't there in the moment when we were together. I never meant to make you feel that way. My feelings for you will never change and I need you to know that no matter what happens you'll always be my angel. I love you and I'll never forget you, Rachel."

* * *

Tears were falling freely from her eyes as she arrived back at her truck and climbed back inside. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She pulled out her phone and saw a couple of text notifications from her mother, ignoring those for the minute she smiled a little seeing the photo on her lock screen. It was a photo of her and Max taken at the diner the night before, they were in their usual booth but sat side by side, Chloe had her arm around Max as they both made silly faces at the camera. "Max..."

Reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled out her cigarettes lighting one up. She closed her eyes, taking a deep pull of smoke, and tried to release some of the tension that had built up from the difficult conversations she had just had.

Opening up her messages she saw that her mother had texted her quite a few times.

Mom: Honey, where are you going?

Mom: I worry about you Chloe, I hate seeing you hurtin' like this.

Mom: I'm here for you if you need me.

Mom: Please tell me where you are or at least that you're ok.

' _Shit I really worried her this morning'_

Chloe: I'm ok mom. I just needed to talk to Dad.

***Bzzt**Bzzt***

Mom: You always did prefer your father's comfort even when you were a child.

Mom: I'll see you at the diner unless you're coming back to the house before hand.

Finishing her cigarette she threw the stub out the window and started the engine. Deciding on her destination, she peeled out of the parking lot and headed toward Blackwell.


	7. Reflection (Max POV)

It was mid morning as Max sat at her desk with a grin as wide as her face. _'I can't believe Chloe actually kissed me! Wowser.'_ The kiss had been only slightly longer than the one Max had initiated that morning but the butterflies in Max's stomach had been on overdrive. The feeling of Chloe's strong arms around her waist holding her close, her broad shoulders under her hands, and the lingering smell of cigarettes, weed, and men's deodorant had made her head swim. Even now the taste of Chloe's chap stick remained clear in her mind.

Checking her email and Facebook notifications, she had received one from Kate asking her how her bunny was doing and wanting to know if she would be visiting at the weekend. The other notifications were various comments on the pictures she uploaded while at the diner the night before. However, there was a few she couldn't possibly have taken as while she was certainly in them, she was most definitely not holding the camera. _'Chloe must have grabbed my phone when I went to get some pie. She's a sneaky one. I better make sure she didn't do anything else to my phone while I was drooling over the dessert counter.'_ Quickly going through her texts and photos, the only other thing she could see was a selfie of Chloe flipping off the camera while wearing her trademark shit-eating grin. _'Definitely Chloe Price's signature selfie pose.'_

She stretched and shifted a little in her chair, feeling her ass going slightly numb from the hard surface, _'Damn this chair is not comfy. Makes me wish I'd let Chloe steal Principals Well's cosy chair. I wonder if I could convince her to grab David's keys again. I bet if I made good on my offer of another midnight swim she would.'_

Going back to the messages Kate had sent, she replied sending a photo of her bunny eating a carrot she had snapped this morning and confirming she would visit Kate on Saturday afternoon, asking her if she needed anything brought up from her dorm room.

Looking at her clock, she could see that she still had a good few hours before classes started for the afternoon as her schedule had a temporary extended free period on Friday mornings. _'Still no photography teacher to replace... him.'_ Even though she had escaped the Dark Room, and even re-written the timeline where she had been there entirely, the thought of Mark Jefferson sent a shiver down her spine. Some nights she would wake up thinking she could still feel the duct tape on her wrists or hear the click of his camera as he took photo after photo of her. Those nights were difficult but Chloe was always there to reassure her with a 2 am phone call if it was required.

Shaking herself from those thoughts, she grabbed her journal from her bag and opened it up to the last entry. She hadn't written in it much since the events of that Friday afternoon, mainly the odd thought or frustrated outburst at the amount of time she had spent talking to the authorities about the whole situation, however, the entry from earlier this week was a little fuller.

* * *

'Haven't written in here for a little while, been pretty busy between school and dealing with the police about Jeffershit (Chloe started calling him that and I think it suits him). I guess I should try to explain what's been going on since my previous entries after the nightmare down at the beach are a little disjointed.

I have no idea what the hell happened while I was going through my brains version of my own personal hell, but the tornado I saw before passing out dissipated as quickly as it had arrived. No one has been able to explain why, same thing with the freak snowfall, eclipse, beached whales and the double moons. As long as they don't start back up again then it can remain a mystery.

I travelled through so many realities and timelines that week that I can barely keep track of them all, and I really don't even know if this reality is even my original one anymore, so many little things could have changed that I don't know about.

Speaking of not knowing, I really should ask Chloe about what we got up to the night after we left the Vortex Club Party. I mean, I know we told David about the Dark Room and Rachel in the junkyard, and he got to play the hero, swooping in to capture Jeffershit red handed in the bunker. Apart from that, with everything else that was happening, I forgot to ask about that missing 18 hours of my life, the only thing I was concerned with at that moment was that Chloe was alive, and more importantly, we were together.'

* * *

Max had asked Chloe about this last night and was told that once they had spoken to David about the Dark Room, Chloe had taken them up to her room and comforted the autopilot Max when she found out Chloe had been shot again. They had also talked at length about her time in the alternate timeline where Chloe was paralysed. _'I was worried she would hate me, for having to let William go again to bring her back to me. She told me that she understands why I did, and that I made the right choice. I don't know if it makes me a bad person or a selfish person, but I want to believe that I did.'_

She was pulled from her thoughts by a new message alert coming from her laptop.

'Hi, Max. I love the photo of Alice; you always take such great shots. I don't think I need anything from my room but thank you for asking. My father brought me some different teas from home, so I can offer you something better than the vending machine provided last time you were here. Kate x'

' _Kate is such a sweetheart.'_ Max thought as she replied to the message from her friend before closing down her laptop. She opened up her journal once more turning to a new page. After covering most of the page with another sketch of the blue haired punk, this time recreating the proposal at the lighthouse, she began writing.

* * *

'The last couple of days with Chloe have been amazing. No school drama, no weird weather, and no threats of death hanging over us, just the two of us being able to spend time together like I'd hope for. We've only been in each other's lives again for a few weeks, but it feels like we've spent a lifetime together already.

I thought nearly ruined our night out, by freaking out at the lighthouse, but Chloe never judged, she simply held me tight, talking to me until I had calmed down. She was so gentle and sweet the whole night, especially when she "proposed". She can be such a dork but I love that about her. She tries to put on a hard front to the world, but when were together, in moments like that, I can see the wonderful and caring girl I grew up with.

As much as our night out and sneaking back into Blackwell was fun, it was yesterday that I can barely believe happened.

We kissed. TWICE!

The first was in the morning before class, it was just a quick peck on the lips much the same as the kiss she dared me to give her two weeks ago. The second was different, it felt more... intense. She had pulled me against her and wrapped her arms around me. Every nerve was on alert; my stomach was doing summersaults as she leant in to kiss me. I thought my heart would jump out of my throat it was beating so fast.

I know now that my feelings for her, even before I left for Seattle, had been more than just friendly admiration or simple childhood infatuation. I never really had other friends growing up as Chloe was all I needed, all I wanted. Anytime I was hurt she'd come running to make sure I was ok, she'd stick up for me, and give me confidence when I had none, and now, even though we've both grown up, it's not that much different. Except it's the way her eyes linger when she looks at me, the gentle touches, and how safe she makes me feel when she holds me that makes my heart flutter.

I still don't quite know what we are to each other as we haven't really talked about what this is that's happening between us. I know how I feel and the way Chloe acts with me makes me hopeful that she feels the same way. I really can't imagine my life without her in it, but I just worry that I might ruin what we have if she doesn't feel the same way about me as I do her. Not to mention Rachel...

Sigh, it would really help if I had any experience in this sort of thing at all, but considering I never even thought about the possibility of any sort of relationship with anyone before, I'm out of my depth a little. Maybe I should stop worrying and just let whatever this is just be, rather than try to force anything or define it.'

* * *

A quiet knock at her door took her attention away from the journal. Closing the book she stood up and crossed the room. Upon opening the door her brow furrowed as she saw who was knocking. In front of her stood Victoria, her clothes and make-up done to her normally immaculate standard, however, there was a slight redness to her eyes, as though she had been crying fairly recently.

"Maxine." To the casual listener, she would have sounded the same as she ever did, however, Max could hear the slight wavering of her tone. "Do you have your notes for History class this morning, I wasn't there that period and I never understand Taylor's."

"Um... sure, I have them somewhere. Do you want to come in while I look for them?" Max asked standing aside to allow Victoria in.

Max was concerned about the girl who she was starting to consider a friend despite the rivalry they had gone through early in their relationship. She wanted to ask why she had been crying but wasn't sure if Victoria would want to talk, at least not to her. Turning her attention to looking for the notes in her pile of books and folders she left Victoria to examine her photo wall, the blonde's eyes assessing each image in detail.

"There's something to be said for the whole retro photography style you have Maxine. It's certainly different from the majority of the photographers I've met back home." At one time the statement might have been wrapped in sarcasm to disguise the sincerity of her comment, however, Victoria had learned that the pointless digs and fighting weren't the best way to deal with things and was trying to be more honest.

Max turned back to the blonde, note papers in hand. "Thanks, Victoria. I like your style too, especially your selfies." Max and Victoria shared a smile at the call back to the 'go fuck your selfie' conversation which had been the start of their warming up to each other.

"Here you go," Max said handing over the papers. "I took quite a lot of notes so some of it may be stuff you've already covered but hopefully it'll help" She gave a small shrug at this feeling some of her social awkwardness creeping back in.

"Thanks, Max." Victoria spoke a little softer, this time, a small but genuine smile evident.

"No problem." Max replied hesitating briefly before asking, "Victoria, are you ok? You seem a little down this morning." She saw the smile fade as the blonde looked away from her momentarily. _'Maybe asking her wasn't a good idea.'_

"Max, I... I'm not sure I can talk to about this." Victoria spoke quietly in a small voice, very unlike her normal assertive manner. Her eyes showed a vulnerability that Max wasn't expecting the blonde to allow her to see.

Reaching over Max placed a hand on Victoria's shoulder trying to provide some comfort to the girl. "You can talk to me, Victoria. I know you might not think of me as a friend but I want to help if I can."

When Victoria didn't speak any further Max worried if she had overstepped the boundaries. "I'm sorry Victoria, I didn't mean to pry. I am here for you though, if you want to talk about anything. I'm good at keeping secrets too, I promise"

Victoria placed her hand over Max's conveying her gratitude for Max's concern "I know... and I am grateful. But I can't, not right now."

With that she pulled her hand away from Max's and took a step back, putting her mask back on to protect herself from the world once more. "So... I meant to ask... How did your date with the blue haired delinquent go?"

Taken aback slightly from the sudden change in topic, Max floundered for a moment before replying. "I-it wasn't a d-date. We just went for dinner and up to the lighthouse." Her cheeks started to warm at the mention of Chloe, a reaction she didn't seem to be able to prevent these days.

"Really, Caulfield?" Victoria raised an eyebrow at the rambling brunette; the denial blurted out like that made her want to tease the girl further. "She took you out for dinner, you broke curfew to spend the evening running around town with her, and you snuck her back to your dorm after midnight to spend the night. Sounds awfully like a date to me."

Max's frowned as she'd thought they had been quiet sneaking back. "How d-did yo-"

Victoria continued talking over Max's objections. "And don't think I didn't see your little PDA in front of the school yesterday. You looked like you were enjoying it."

' _Oh shit, I didn't think anyone was watching.'_ the warmth of her face had turned into a full blown flush as she turned red from embarrassment. All she wanted to do was curl up in the corner and wait until Victoria went away. "Oh Dog." She groaned hiding behind her hands.

"Relax, Maxine, as much fun as it is to see you looking like a socially awkward tomato, I'm not going to go around blabbing about your love life. There are _far_ more interesting things than that going on I assure you."

Max peaked out through her fingers at the blonde to see if there was any reason to doubt her word. Finding none she dropped her hands from her face reverting to her normal stance holding her elbow, her face still bright red. "She's my best friend, we've known each other since I was in first grade. Since we met back up we've gotten closer than ever, but we haven't really talked about what's going on, to be honest..." Max never expected she would be talking to Victoria about this but here she was, and somehow this felt weirder than anything else she had done during the month of October.

"Well if the puppy dog eyes she gave you as you walked away are any indication I don't th-"

***Bzzt**Bzzt***

Max grabbed her phone off the bedside table, seeing a text Chloe she opened it up immediately. While it wasn't unusual for Chloe to text her during school hours, there was an urgency to this text that made Max worried.

Chloe: Can you come to the parking lot. I need to see you, dude. Plz.

"Something wrong?" Victoria asked seeing the concerned frown appear on the brunette's face while reading the message.

"I'm not sure" Max replied, her voice a little distant as her mind began to run through numerous reasons why Chloe might be at the school now when they had already planned to meet up after Chloe's shift at the Two Whales ended.

She grabbed her hoodie, quickly cramming her journal into her bag before shifting her attention back to the blonde. "Sorry Victoria, I need to go just now. Just remember, I meant what I said earlier if you need to talk I can be a good listener."

"Thanks, Max, and thanks again for the notes."


	8. Letting Go and Holding On (Max POV)

As Max reached the parking lot she came to a halt, slightly out of breath having run most of the way from the dorms. She spotted Chloe at the far corner of the lot, perched on the tailgate of her truck. She approached slowly, observing the punk who hadn't yet looked up. Her body language and expression showed that she was not her usual confident self. Her head hung low, shoulders hunched over, legs dangling off the edge as she took a long draw from her cigarette. She was staring intently at her phone as she smoked.

"Chloe?" she spoke lightly as she closed the last few metres not wanting to surprise her since she was seemingly not paying much attention to the world around her.

Chloe raised her head, seeing the brunette in front of her she quickly jumped down from the truck, pocketing her phone as she flicked the rest of her cigarette away. She reached forward; her longer limbs enveloped the photographer holding her securely to her chest while she buried her face in Max's hair. Max responded to the sudden hug by slipping her arms around the punks waist and holding her just as tight.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" Max could feel that Chloe was tense but as the seconds passed the tension drained away as she relaxed in the shared embrace.

After a few moments, Chloe pulled back loosening her grip on the photographer but still holding her close. "Hey, hey... I'm ok." Chloe lifted her head from on top of the smaller girl's, kissing Max on the forehead before squeezing her reassuringly and leaning her forehead against the photographers. "I just needed to see you." Chloe spoke quietly, while her eyes were still a little watery from her earlier crying she smiled softly.

' _I'm supposed to be comforting her and she's worried about me being worried about her.'_ Max thought wryly. "For cereal though Chlo, what's up?"

"Max, I-" Chloe started to speak but quickly stopped realising they were still in the Blackwell parking lot where anyone could overhear their conversation. She could see a few members of the student body moving toward the stairs since it was now lunch time. "Maybe this isn't the best place for us to talk, too many people around."

"We could go to my dorm?" Max suggested since it would give them somewhere private away from prying eyes and ears.

Chloe took a moment before answering. Feeling that the dorm room, while private, would be too small a space and the walls would probably start to feel like they were closing in on her she responded, "Can we go somewhere else, away from here?"

* * *

They drove a short distance away from the campus to a quiet wooded area around the back of the town before pulling into a clearing just of the main road. The journey there had been silent, however, Max had not let go of Chloe's hand, wanting to make sure the taller girl knew she was still there. Chloe knew she would have to talk soon but she wanted to enjoy the quiet moment with Max's hand in her own as long as she could before then.

After a while, Max broke the silence "Do you want to talk about things?" She had turned and was now sitting facing Chloe.

"I... uh, didn't have the best of mornings, to be honest. I sorta freaked and ran out of the house at breakfast." Her explanation was accompanied with a small shrug having not thought out what she was going to say, only that she needed to see her Max. "I guess shit just caught up to me, it kinda hit me pretty hard and I didn't know what else to do."

"You can always talk to me, Chlo. I'm here for you just as much as you have been for me." Max tried to keep eye contact as a way of trying to convey how much she cared for the taller girl.

"I know." Chloe spoke softly, barely audible and turned away from the intense gaze of the photographer, unable to handle the emotion she saw reflected.

"Max, I...um..." Chloe sighed frustrated at herself. "Fuck... Why is shit like this so difficult?"

Max kept her hold on the punk, rubbing the back of her hand gently waiting for her to continue speaking. She knew Chloe reacted better if given time to get her thoughts together. _'She's usually so guarded. Even after we hooked up again, she took a while to trust me and open up, and I can't say I blame her considering the circumstances. I just want her to feel safe with me, like I feel with her.'_

It took a while before Chloe spoke, her voice was distant "After Dad died and you moved away, things got pretty dark for me."

"Che, I..."

Speaking quickly to stem any attempt by Max to apologise again for the five-year gap in their relationship, "I'm not trying to guilt trip you dude, but I need to get this crap out of my head."

Seeing Max frown but otherwise pause from jumping in she continued "You and Dad weren't there anymore, Mom was going through her own stuff and it felt like my whole world was gone. I... I did some stuff I'm not proud of and got into some stupid shit, but at the time none of it mattered I couldn't see any future worth having."

Max could feel the tears welling up as she listened to Chloe. She wanted to reach out and hold the taller girl as though the act would help heal the wounds built up over the last five years, wounds that both of them were left with.

"I ran away from home a couple of times after David moved in, ended up sleeping at the junkyard some nights. That's when I met Rachel." Chloe looked down at their entwined hands trying to draw strength from the connection she felt with the girl beside her.

"She was the only one who didn't seem to expect anything of me. I felt like I could breathe, you know? But even she couldn't keep the world at bay forever. When she die-" Chloe swallowed with difficulty feeling a lump in her throat as she tried to hold together. "When she disappeared, I felt like I was back at square one again, except this time I was five years older and a lot more reckless."

"Chloe, I-I... Oh, Dog." Max threw herself at the punk wrapping her arms around her neck burying her face in the side of Chloe's head _'I let my own pain and fears stop me from reaching out to her when she needed me the most.'_

Chloe shushed the younger girl as she nuzzled into Max's hair."It wasn't your fault Max, you were just a kid, and you had no control over moving to Seattle. And I'm done blaming everyone else for the way my life turned out."

"I've spent the last five years running from everything and I feel like I lost myself at some point. I guess life doesn't stop just because you have." Chloe nuzzled into Max's hair again closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before resting her cheek on top of Max's head as the younger girl nestled into the crook of her neck. "But I meant what I said up at the lighthouse. You gave me a second chance, a chance at a future that I don't even know if I deserve. All I know is that I need to do something with that chance to prove that I was worth all the shit you had to go through to save me."

Max pulled back from her spot under Chloe's chin to look at the punk "Chloe, don't you ever think like that." Her voice was laced with anger that Chloe would think that way about herself. Softening her tone when she saw the taller girl's reaction, "You are always worth it, don't ever think otherwise. I would go through it all again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you with me. I need you Chlo, I need you so much more than you realise."

"I won't lie, that week was d-difficult, to say the least. I was scared, not just because of what was happening, but that I would lose you after I had just found you again." Max raised her hand to cup Chloe's cheek, her eyes displaying the love and affection she felt for the girl in front of her. "You were the reason I kept going. Even when I thought I was done for in the Dark Room and everything was falling apart around me you were the only thought in my mind." She felt a smile tug at her mouth as she saw the punk look at her in wonder that she would be that important to her.

"Back when we were kids you always made me feel stronger, that I could take on anything as long as you were with me. When you're around the rest of the world just doesn't matter. I feel safe with you Chloe, I just want to curl up in your arms and have you never let go."

With that, Chloe pulled Max into her lap and wrapped her arms around the photographer's torso as the shorter girl settled into position curling into her chest. "We both know there are a lot of things I need to let go of, but I promise you that I'll never let go of you SuperMax."

As Max felt Chloe gently kiss her forehead she lifted her head to look up at the punk. As their eyes met she could see a depth of emotion in the piercing blue eyes looking down at her. Their faces were close together but in the clear light of day, Max could see a faint blush on the cheeks of the bluenette. Slowly, as though neither had conscious control they moved even closer, their lips only millimetres away as the familiar butterflies in her stomach came to life, her heart beating so hard she could feel every thump deep in her chest, but at the last moment, Chloe pulled away.

"Chloe?" she asked confused at why the punk had pulled away from the moment that had been about to happen.

Chloe was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her tone was nervous "I guess we should talk about this, huh? I mean about what's going on... with us."

A sinking feeling replaced the butterflies in Max's stomach as she realised where this conversation was going. While her insecurities were usually under her control, there was a part of her that couldn't help but niggle at the back of her mind. _'What if she doesn't feel the same, have I fucked this up? What if this makes things weird between us, I couldn't bear to lose her now.'_ Shaking herself internally, Max tried to reign in her errant thoughts _. 'Max, calm down. Just chill. Even if she doesn't want the same thing as you, she's still your best friend, that won't change, just be honest with her.'_

"I think it's pretty clear how I feel about you Chlo. I mean...I nearly tore apart the fabric of time and space for you." Max gave a short self-depreciating laugh at how over the top the statement was, even though it was the truth. She had jumped through all those timelines and realities nearly getting herself killed in the process, just to come back to the girl she had fallen in love with. "I don't expect you to feel the same way but I need you to know how much you mean to me."

"Look Max... please don't take this to mean that I don't want this... I do, but I... I'm still kinda messed up over what happened with Rachel and you deserve far more than I can give you right now". While she spoke, Chloe had tightened her grip on the brunette wanting the younger girl to know she wasn't going to let go, just as she had promised. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm not running, I just need to sort out things in my head. I know I'm asking a lot but can you be patient with me Max."

"For you Chloe, anything".


	9. Reconnecting (Switches POV)

"Holy shit, I haven't seen Power Rangers in years." Chloe exclaimed excitedly, instantly recognising the distinctive heavy distorted guitar of the opening theme song of the original Mighty Morphin' series coming from the laptop as she and Max sat on Chloe's bed eating the pizza's they had prepared earlier. "Remember when we'd get up early just to watch it at the weekends and Mom would come downstairs and find us on a pile of cushions in front of the TV."

Max smiled at Chloe's excited outburst happy that her choice of show had caused a grin to appear. After their conversation earlier about what was going on between them she had been worried that Chloe may have tried to keep her distance as she had before when things were troubling her. Instead, Chloe had opened up about how she had been feeling over the last five years and that she needed to make the most of the second chance at life she had been given.

Their heart to heart had almost ended in them kissing yet again, however, at the last second Chloe had pulled away resulting in an awkward conversation about how they felt about each other. However, despite both of them admitting that they felt more for each other than simply friendship, Chloe had explained she wasn't ready for a relationship yet and didn't want to risk hurting them both by rushing into things while she was still dealing with her grief for Rachel.

This had led to the pair agreeing to spend the weekend just enjoying their time together as friends with no expectations of anything further happening between them. So after Chloe's shift at the Two Whales ended, she had grabbed a couple of cheap frozen pizzas and headed to Blackwell to pick up Max, who was armed with a pen drive full of old TV shows from their childhood.

"What I remember is you trying to show off by fighting imaginary putties in the living room and getting into trouble." Max replied poking fun at the punk's enthusiasm for the show. _'It feels amazing just hanging out like we did when we were younger.'_

"Yeah, Mom wasn't happy when I broke her vase." Chloe grinned over at Max, "But you gotta admit I kicked hella ass."

"Ok... you are a hella ass." Max replied sticking out her tongue eliciting a snort of amusement from the punk.

"And you are a little shit, emphasis on the little." came the retort while poking the younger girl in the ribs causing her to shriek at the unexpected touch.

"Quit it, you jerk." Max shouted as she tried to move out of Chloe's longer reach.

"Never!" Chloe shouted.

Once Chloe stopped her attempts to torment her Max exclaimed: "You're such a child sometimes."

"Says the dork who suggested we watch kids TV shows all night?" came the sarcastic reply from the punk.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed as they continued to watch shows from their childhood including 'The Adventures of Hawt Dawg Man and Mustard Lady' and more 'Power Rangers' laughing at how crappy the special effects looked now compared to what they had thought as kids.

"Wanna watch something else?" Max asked while trying, with difficulty, to suppress a yawn.

"Nah, I think it's past your bedtime anyway. Can't keep little Maxie up too late or she gets cranky." Chloe responded having noticed Max becoming more tired over the last hour or so.

Frowning, Max opened her mouth to respond, however, the yawn made it past her attempts to stifle it first. "No I don't and it can't be that late, can it?"

Chloe looked at the clock on the laptop screen. "It's, like, nearly 1 am dude. Tempus fugit or some shit like that."

Max raised an eyebrow at the Latin phrase that had come from the punk. It probably shouldn't have surprised her as she knew that Chloe was smarter than she often let on, sometimes obfuscating her intelligence behind a foul mouth and flippant attitude. She had been a straight 'A' student in another timeline, but still, it always caught her off guard when Chloe would suddenly ramble on about things like Chaos Theory or strange attractors when her report card in this timeline showed her failing almost every class before being expelled.

' _She always complained about class being boring, especially math, but I guess she enjoyed learning, just not how school was structured. She's beautiful and smart and I'm... I feel a little inadequate next to her sometimes.'_

As Max came back from her thoughts she noticed that Chloe was now over by her dresser, her back turned, picking out a shirt to sleep in. She knew she should probably turn around and give her some privacy to change, but the second that Chloe grabbed her tank top and pulled it up over her head Max found it difficult to look away.

With Chloe's shirt discarded Max couldn't help but trail her eyes over her slim but lightly muscled body, pausing to admire her broad shoulders, the way her muscles rippled under her skin as she moved, and how the lines of her tattoo curved around following the natural flow of her bicep and forearm.

She was fighting with herself as part of her desperately wanted to look away, almost appalled by her own behaviour, the other part wanting to continue watching as Chloe began unbuttoning her jeans.

"Enjoying the show over there?" Chloe called over her shoulder flashing a roguish grin having spotted Max shyly watching her undress in the small mirror atop her dresser.

"I ... Um..." Max stammered as her face turned scarlet, embarrassed at being caught checking out the taller girl so obviously. "Oh Dog..."

"I don't blame you, who could resist this hot piece of ass, right?" Chloe continued to joke.

Seeing the concern and embarrassment playing out on Max's face, Chloe decided to take pity on her. "Relax horn dog. Just go get ready for bed. We've got Lady Jesus to see tomorrow."

Max waited until Chloe had turned back to the dresser before getting up off the bed and heading for the bathroom to make a start on her nightly routine, berating herself on the way. _'I'm acting like a horny Blackwell Bro when she asked me to be patient with her; she's not ready for us to become... well us. Even if she was, I know I'm not ready for anything like that. I need to calm down, maybe have a cold shower... or something.'_

* * *

For the last hour, Chloe had been trying and failing, to fall asleep. The graffiti behind her on the wall proclaiming "I Can't Sleep" was a reminder of the many nights where she had struggled to reign in the thoughts that kept her up, and tonight was no different. She looked over at Max, seeing her resting peacefully curled up beside her, the younger girl having drifted off some time ago leaving her alone with her thoughts, her earlier visit to Rachel's grave and the conversation with Max weighing heavily on her mind. _'I just need a smoke to clear my head.'_

Sighing in annoyance, she sat up pulling off the covers and moved to sit at the edge of the bed, recoiling slightly as her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor beneath her. She stretched out her arms and rolled her head around trying to relax the tense muscles in her neck and shoulders. Standing up, Chloe walked over to her desk quietly and opened up the top drawer pulling out a small wooden box. Lifting the lid she inspected the contents. _'That's the last of my stash. Looks like I'll need to visit Frank.'_

As she picked up her lighter and the sole remaining joint she heard Max make a small whimpering noise behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw Max reach over to the side of the bed she had just occupied as if searching for her. Moving back over to the bed she laid her hand over Max's gently rubbing her thumb over the top of her knuckles and whispered, "Shhh, I won't be gone long."

* * *

Descending the stairs Chloe could hear her mother talking quietly from the living room. As she got closer she could see her mother sat at the head of the dining table, her back facing the hallway and the house phone held to her ear.

"I'm so glad you're doing this. Not just for me but for your own good too... If you want I can go with you next time for support... Ok dear. I'll see you in the morning... Love you too."

Chloe decided to make her presence known as Joyce hung up the phone. "Hey."

Joyce spun around quickly in the chair in surprise at the sudden voice behind her. "Oh Chloe, it's you. What are you still doing up at this hour?"

Chloe sat down taking the chair beside her "Couldn't sleep. I was gonna go outside for a smoke since Max is sleeping." She nervously rubbed the back of her neck before asking "Um, what was that about?" and gestured toward the phone handset that was sat on the table in front of them.

"David. He said he'd call on his lunch break and let me know how he got on with the counsellor earlier."

"So Rambo's finally seeing a shrink, huh?" the look she received from her mother at that comment made her shrink back in her chair and sheepishly apologise "Sorry."

Joyce sighed. "Chloe–"

Before Joyce could start lecturing her, Chloe interjected "I'm trying. I am, it's just... habit I guess." _'This is the sort of shit I need to stop doing, opening my mouth before thinking.'_

"He's seeing a counsellor who specialises in helping ex-military personnel working in law enforcement or similar professions. One of the officers at the station put him in contact with them last week. He's only had the one session but he seems to think it'll help him." Joyce explained.

' _Hopefully, they're more help than the school counsellors I had to deal with. Then again, it's not like I wanted to be there, maybe that'll make a difference.'_ Chloe thought, recalling the sessions she had been forced to attend prior to her expulsion.

She sat forward once more, leaning her arms on the table. "I was thinking earlier, at the diner... I know you only needed me to cover a couple of shifts and Steve will be back once his arm's healed but is there any chance I'd be able to keep his hours till then? Or is there any other hours you need covered or something?"

"Not that I'm not happy that you want to take on some responsibility, and don't take this the wrong way Chloe, but what's brought this on?" Joyce asked surprised at her daughter's request since she usually tried her hardest to avoid conversations about getting a job or continuing her education.

"Can't be a teenage delinquent forever right? The teenage element kinda has an expiration date anyway..." her response was self-deprecating and her smile weak. She often used humour to deflect from the real reasons behind her actions, however, at the raised eyebrow from her mother she turned more serious in her response. "I mean, you've got to deal with all the bills and shit, and I, uh, I kinda figured I should, I dunno, like start helping out with things, take some pressure off you and David."

Joyce reached over and placed her hand on Chloe's forearm patting gently with a fond smile on her face. "Leave it with me honey. I'll take a look at the schedule tomorrow and let you know what hours I can give you ok?"

"Thanks, Mom." Chloe replied as she sat back in her chair, again contemplating asking her mother about the dilemma she was dealing with.

"Well, I think it's time I headed to bed. I need as much beauty sleep as I can get at my age." Joyce joked as she rose from the table. Taking a look at her daughter's expression she could see that Chloe was debating something internally but didn't want to push especially after what happened at breakfast. "Don't stay up too late ok?"

Chloe watched her mother as she picked up the phone and walked over to the other side of the room to put it back in the cradle. ' _Fuck this is gonna come out the wrong way, and I'll probably sound like I'm being a dick but I gotta ask her.'_

"Wait, Mom, can I ask you something?" Chloe asked as Joyce made her way toward the short hallway.

"Of course you can, sweetheart." Joyce replied stopping at the edge of the bookcase. "What is it?"

Chloe took a second breathing in before she spoke. "After Dad died and you met David... when, um, how did you know you were ready to move on... and be with someone else?"

She stared down at the table unable to look her mother in the eye, concerned that Joyce might take her question as poking at old wounds considering her fairly extreme reaction when Joyce had introduced David as her new boyfriend barely 9 months after her father had passed away.

After a moment of silence, Joyce walked over to the table and sat back down beside her and asked, her tone gentle "This about Rachel?"

Chloe nodded but still didn't look up from where she was focused. She spoke quietly "I know what Rachel and I had wasn't on the same level as you and Dad but–"

She was quickly interrupted "But nothing. Love is love, it doesn't matter how long you had together." Joyce knew that Chloe had loved Rachel and wished she could have prevented the pain her disappearance brought. "Honey, I saw how much you loved that girl, and you have every right to feel the way you do. Losing someone you love is never easy no matter when or... how they go."

"But to answer your question, you never really feel a hundred percent ready to move on until you take that step. There will always be a part of you that loves them dearly, but you have to give yourself permission to continue living and be happy again."

Chloe frowned but remained silent allowing her mother to continue.

"When I met David, I turned him down when he first asked me out. I worried that I wasn't respecting your father and the time he and I shared together by even entertaining the thought of dating again, but William would never have wanted me to spend the rest of my life alone." Joyce's voice took on a slightly wistful tone "David was so kind and patient with me when I agreed to a date a few weeks later. He was such a gentleman about it. He made it clear that he didn't expect anything and understood if I just wanted companionship rather than a relationship."

"Even now I still have the engagement ring William gave me and a photo of the two of us while I was pregnant with you in my bedside cabinet and David has _never_ , not even once, taken issue with that. He knows how much I still love your father and doesn't expect me to stop just because I love him now."

"I never knew..." Chloe responded nearly whispering, surprised at her mother's explanation showing David in such a different light than that of her memories of him in the last four years.

"To be fair Chloe, you never gave him the time of day to see that side of him. He was never trying to replace William; he knows he never could, not to me and certainly not to you but he is trying to be a good husband and man. I'm not expecting you to ever think of him as a father figure, but know that he does care about you Chloe and wants us to be a family."

' _She's right. I never really did give him a chance to show what sort of a person he was back then. I just saw him as someone who was trying to take over the place Dad should still have been in. Doesn't excuse some of his bullshit, but even Max said the same thing about him when he saved her from Jefferson.'_

"The point I was trying to make Chloe, is that you can't hide away and let opportunities for happiness pass you by. I'm not saying jump straight into something head first, but don't close yourself off from the one person who makes you smile or laugh again after everything you've had to deal with. If you have a chance to be happy with Max-"

Chloe snapped her head to look at her mother in surprise and nearly choked on air as she spluttered out. "Wha- How di-"

"Oh, honey," Joyce drawled, chuckling at the look of shock on her daughter's face. "Don't look so surprised, I'm your mother and a mother knows these things. Besides, I've seen the way you look at her when you think no one is watching; it's the same way your father used to look at me."

Chloe opened her mouth to say something then closed it again frowning slightly still trying to process what she had heard.

"I really should head to bed now, but remember, I love you and if you ever need to talk, about anything, I am here for you ok?"

"I, uh, thanks, Mom." Chloe responded quietly. She wasn't used to this sort of open conversation with her mother, the majority of their normal conversations resulting in disappointment and hurt on both sides in part due to her own temper and impulsiveness.

Joyce stood up from the table again, leaning over to kiss Chloe on the forehead. "Now, go have your smoke and make sure you don't leave the butt on the patio for David to find in the morning."

* * *

 Having left the door open a crack when she went downstairs Chloe entered her bedroom silently. Even though the lights were still off, in the dim moonlight spilling in from the window by her desk she noticed that Max was no longer asleep. Instead, the younger girl was sitting up, knees drawn up leaning forward with her hands covering her face, rubbing her eyes roughly.

Chloe paused for a second wondering if she should call out from where she was or move closer first, _'If she had another one of her nightmares about him, calling her name isn't a good idea. I don't want to cause her to panic if she's still jumpy about that.'_ As Chloe debated she shifted her weight onto her other foot causing the floorboard beneath her to creak slightly. _'Fuck...'_

Upon hearing the creak Max removed her hands from her eyes suddenly, worrying for a moment before recognising the outline of the figure across the room as her partner in time and relaxing. "Where did you go?" she asked looking up at Chloe trying to make out her features in the low light.

"Couldn't sleep so I went for a smoke. M'sorry if I woke you up." Chloe apologised as she returned to the bed, climbing under the covers once more.

"You didn't." Max replied quietly, shaking her head slightly.

"'Nother nightmare?" Chloe asked gently as she lay down on her side leaning her head on her hand looking over at Max who was facing her sitting cross-legged her hands in her lap now.

Max nodded slowly taking a moment to stretch out her arms and neck before lying down again beside Chloe. "I haven't had one for a few days, not while you've been around anyway but I must have sensed you weren't in the room anymore." She sighed and rolled onto her side facing the punk who had reached out taking a hold of her hand. Chloe remained quiet as Max continued. "It was the one about Kate. I was on the ground looking up at her on the roof, I tried to freeze time but it wouldn't work and she..." Max trailed off not wanting to finish that particular sentence.

"C'mere" Chloe turned onto her back and pulled Max over to her placing her arm around her waist protectively as Max found herself tucked into Chloe's side, her face resting just above the taller girl's collar bone. She squeezed Max gently, rubbing her hands along the younger girls back reassuringly.

It was a few moments before Max spoke again. "That one isn't as bad as the others. I know it's not real, I _know_ I saved Kate and she's alive but I keep seeing it happen." her brow furrowed in frustration that she couldn't control the images running through her mind. "Like it's stuck on a fucking loop."

Chloe hugged the younger girl closer, "Just point me in the direction of the bad dreams, Max. I'll kick their ass for you."

Despite how the nightmare had affected her current state of mind Max smiled at Chloe's assertion and cuddled into her further. "You'd need to kick _my_ ass since they're in _my_ brain."

"Well, then you better prepare your booty for an ass whooping Caulfield." Chloe's tone was playful as she tickled Max's side causing her to give out a squeak as she tried to wriggle away from the tormenting fingers.

"Ah!" Max giggled as Chloe continued her assault. "C-Chloooee!"

After a moment Chloe relented allowing the brunette to catch her breath and her heartbeat to settle back down.

They returned to their previous position as Max snuggling into the taller girl's side. The now familiar scent of the weed and tobacco lingering from the punk's joint helped relax her further as she breathed in deeply. Her fingers, without any conscious thought found their way under the hem of Chloe's shirt and began to lazily trace shapes over her abs, sighing contently as the last of the tension from the nightmare left her.

While Chloe had to admit that the feeling of Max's fingers on her skin felt good, she was torn between giving into the feelings that the girl in her arms stirred in her, and continuing to stick with her decision to back things off between the two of them while she was still dealing with her grief. _'I know Mom said that there is never a right time but...'_

As soon as her body tensed she felt Max's hand withdraw from her stomach before she pulled away completely, moving over to the 'her' side of the bed, turning away from her. _'Where do you think you're going, hippy.'_ As Chloe reached out she felt Max freeze when her hand came to a rest on her lower back. "Max?"

"Um... It's just... well... after what we talked about earlier and I..." In this instance, Max was glad Chloe couldn't see her face well in the dark as she could feel herself flush as she struggled to explain. "I'm being awkward again, aren't I? I just don't want you to think I'm pressuring you and..."

' _Damn it Caulfield' "_ I know I said I needed some time but you don't need to freak."

Even though she could only see the back of Max's head, she could tell that the younger girl was still concerned about what had just happened and wasn't going to move back without prompting. Chloe tugged lightly on her arm. "Dude, just get your bony butt back over here and enjoy my hella awesome hugs."

Max turned back around and shuffled back over into Chloe's arms finding herself immediately pulled tightly against the taller girl and as she kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry so much, ok? Now, go back to sleep." adding with just a little bit of sarcasm "Just try to keep your hands above the shirt this time."


	10. Visitation (Max's POV)

"So Dana's plan for next Saturday seems to be to meet up at the skate park in the afternoon to hang out, then to head back to the dorms and get ready for the party around seven." Max explained reading the message from Dana that had been sent to the group chat.

"Cool. How about I grab my costume and bring it over before we head to the park?" Chloe offered, adding "It'll save me having to go home first to change." She briefly glanced over while speaking but quickly returned her eyes to the road in front of them trying to spot the turning they needed to take.

"Yeah, that'd be good. You can use the dorm shower if you need to." Max replied before asking "Have you got your costume sorted out?"

"I've got some of it. Just gotta get into the attic tomorrow and find a few bits and pieces I've got stored up there like my Captains hat and our swords. Plus I'm pretty sure my skateboard is up there too." Chloe replied. "You can help me sort out the stuff up there tomorrow after I clean my room."

As Max was about to respond sarcastically to the suggestion Chloe would voluntarily clean her room given its perpetual state of disarray her phone buzzed again making her jump at the unexpected vibration. _'Jeeze I need to turn the vibrate down on this thing or I'm gonna have a heart attack. Good thing we're heading to a hospital.'_ Opening up the new message she saw it was a message from Taylor.

Taylor: Hey Max, have you talked to Victoria today?

Max: Not today, last I saw her was yesterday. She asked to borrow my notes for class. Why?

Taylor: I'm worried about her.

There was a brief pause before a further message arrived.

Taylor: Ever since Vic spoke to the police about Mr Jefferson, and Nathan's disappearance she's been, well, pretty down about things. She always talks to me whenever she's dealing with difficult shit, but this...

Sighing Max considered how to respond. _'I want to help, but where do I start with Victoria. She's usually so closed off, yesterday was the first time I've seen her so vulnerable since the... the Dark Room.'_ "Shit..." she ignored the concerned look Chloe threw her way and rapidly typed out her reply.

Max: I don't know if she'll accept my help any more than yours and I'm visiting Kate today. But I promise when I'm back at the dorms I'll try to talk to her and do what I can.

Taylor: Ok Max, thank you. I just don't like seeing her like this.

' _Neither do I. As much as she's done some bitchy stuff at times she never deserved to go through any of this. None of us did.'_ Max thought, recalling some of Victoria more antagonistic moments since meeting her two months ago.

Taylor: I wish we hadn't given you such a hard time when you first started at Blackwell since you're actually pretty cool. Maybe we can get to know each other better without all the bullshit? Xx

Max: I'd like that too Taylor.

"Everything alright?" Chloe asked, having watched seen a myriad of expressions play out on Max's face out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm fine. It's Victoria that might not be though." Max said as she took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "Taylor's worried about her... and to be honest so am I. She'd been crying yesterday and I don't think that's the first time since everything went down."

Chloe looked at Max a worried look on her face. Taking one hand of the steering wheel, she rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke "I've... never exactly been Vicky's biggest fan, especially considering how often we got into it when I'd hang out with Rachel, but I'm guessing having her best friend murdered, even if it is Asscott, and knowing Jeffershit was involved is probably fucking with her pretty badly."

Max thought over Chloe's comment realising that the situation was fairly similar to that of Chloe's own for the last six months. "Che-"

"I get how she might be feeling is all I'm meaning." Chloe explained before Max got too worried about her. "But I know that if she's got you looking out for her then she'll be alright." Chloe grinned and lightly punched Max's upper arm before returning her hand to the wheel.

"I wish I had your confidence, Chloe." Max turned her head leaning her forehead against the window as they continued toward the hospital _'Why can't I have a normal life. One where weird fucked up shit doesn't happen to me and my friends and the only drama I have to deal with is the usual teenage bullshit.'_

* * *

"Hi, Kate." Max greeted with a big smile spotting her friend sitting cross-legged on the high-backed chair near the window on the far wall as she walked through the door to the small private hospital room.

"Max! I'm so happy you came." Kate responded joyfully, smiling brightly looking up from her book, a well-thumbed copy of 'The Illustrated Man' by Bradbury. She stood up as Max approached and quickly found herself being pulled into an affectionate hug.

"Me too, but it's not just me today." Max stated, pulling back from the hug and stepping aside revealing Chloe standing awkwardly behind her.

"Um... Hey, Marshmallow." Chloe greeted her, a cautious but lopsided grin present on her face.

While Chloe had met Kate before, she was never entirely sure how to act around the quieter more reserved girl. Their first meeting had been awkward, she hadn't said much since the conversation had been about things and people she didn't really know much about and felt a little left out as a result. She was never brilliant at sharing Max's affection, even as a child, but seeing how badly affected Max was by what had happened on the rooftop and how her behaviour that day could have resulted in events playing out very differently, she was determined to not let her selfishness get the better of her.

"Marshmallow?" Kate queried looking up at the taller girl with amusement.

"Well, it was either that or "Bun Bun" since, ya know, you have a bunny and you wear your hair in a bun." Chloe's smile becoming more confident hearing Kate giggle at the suggestion and thankfully not objecting to either nickname, "But I figured Marshmallow works better since it's at least partly your name."

Max rolled her eyes, used to the punk's insistence on using anything but someone's actual name halftime, ' _Except for Joyce sometimes but usually only when she's pissed off'._ "Don't worry. She gives everyone nicknames. I have an ever growing collection thanks to Chloe; Bat-Max, The Amazing Spider-Max, Mad-Max, Maxaroni, Maximus-"

"Don't forget SuperMax." Chloe interrupted bumping Max's shoulder as she sauntered passed before hopping into one of the visitor chairs with her usual graceful movement.

"How could I?" Max responded her cheeks slightly flushing, a warm feeling in her chest at Chloe calling her SuperMax once more. _'You're smiling like a moron again Caulfield. How is it that all she needs to do is call me that and I melt?'_

Turning her attention back to Kate she asked "How are you holding up? I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to visit you last week."

"The last few weeks have been pretty difficult but I'm doing much better, thanks to how supportive everyone has been." Kate explained. She was originally meant to go home with her parents the morning of the storm but after Jefferson had been arrested the stress of dealing with the events had led the doctors to decide to keep her under observation. Kate knew this meant they thought she was at risk of hurting herself again but she was glad they had kept her in Arcadia Bay close to her friends and support network.

"And don't worry about not coming up last week." She reassured as both she and Max sat down, Max beside Chloe, Kate again in the chair opposite them. "I've had plenty company. Alyssa and Stella were here yesterday and Dana and Trevor came by for a cup of tea on Tuesday. Even Warren dropped in with some flowers." pointing to a vase full of bright yellow and purple pansies sat at the foot of the bed.

' _Those are Kate's favourite flowers. I wonder who Warren had help him pick them out or if he got lucky with that choice'_

Noticing a previously unmentioned box sat in the middle of Kate's bed, Chloe asked "Did someone send you a present?" nodding her head toward the large but flat white package with a red bow.

"Oh." Kate excitedly jumped up from her chair to grab the box. "One of the nurses found it outside my door yesterday, first thing in the morning but there doesn't seem to be any card or label saying who it's from." she explained

"Didn't any of the nurses see anyone?" Max asked curious about the identity of the mystery sender.

Kate shook her head. "No, no one seems to have seen anyone."

Max and Chloe both watched as Kate opened the lid and set it aside revealing a thick layer of brightly coloured tissue paper. Removing the tissue paper showed that the box contained a number of items; a couple of leather bound sketchbooks, a presentation box of coloured pencils along with standard graphite pencils in different hardness gradings and a number of final line work pens in various thicknesses.

"Wowser, Kate. Looks like whoever it was went all out." Max exclaimed while looking over the gifts contained. _'Fancy looking pencils and those sketchbooks look gorgeous. Whoever sent it has good taste.'_

"Some of this stuff is pretty expensive... and it's a really thoughtful present. I just wish I knew who sent it so I could thank them." She packed away the contents carefully covering them back up with the tissue paper once more and placed the box back on the bed. "I'll be able to make proper use of them once I'm back at school."

"Ooh yeah, Max was telling me you're going back there next week?" Chloe prompted remembering what Max had told her over dinner earlier in the week.

"Mm- hm. I'll be back at the dorms next Monday but I don't start classes again until the week after since Principle Wells wanted me to get used to being back on campus before taking on a full workload again. But I worry I'm going to fall behind a little bit having missed so much class already." Kate's brow furrowed slightly, her previous enthusiasm for returning to the normality of school fading somewhat from her voice. "I don't know how everyone else will react to me being back though and I'm not sure I want to bump into some of them at the dorms by myself yet."

Max knew Kate was still worried about the impact that stupid video would have on people's opinions of her, even now with the majority of people knowing Nathan and Jefferson were behind the incident she feared that her reputation was damaged permanently.

Max sat forward in her seat and took hold of Kate's hands holding them between hers firmly. She looked at Kate with a soft but determined expression as she spoke. "You've got me, Dana, Alyssa, and Stella-"

"And me. If anyone gives you shit, just send them my way and I'll hella stomp their ass." Chloe interjected wanting Kate to know she came as part of the SuperMax package, and even if she wasn't particularly good at the emotional stuff like Max was she could at least offer to kick a few well deserving asses instead.

Max smiled and shook her head at the slightly facetious manner in which Chloe asserted her support for Kate. "We're all here for you Kate, whether you need our support or not, and I promise you even Victoria and the rest of the Vortex Club won't mess with you now. If they even try they'll have to go through me first."

"You say that with such conviction Max." Kate's tone became lighter, Max's words giving her strength. "You're like some kind of superhero, always looking out for people and I feel so blessed to have you in my life."

Max blushed in response to the praise "I'm nothing special Kate-"

"But you are Max. You saved me."

"Hey! What have I told you about selling yourself short dude?"

Both Chloe and Kate exclaimed at the same time, neither of them willing to let Max be so self-deprecating as to play down her part in saving both their lives over the course of the second week of October.

Kate was the first to speak again, her voice taking on a slight reverent tone "I don't use these words lightly, but what happened that day, for me anyway, was a miracle."

"I was just in the right place at the right time. That's all." Max continued to object, uncomfortable with this sort of attention and not entirely sure that discussing the events of that day was a good idea.

"I mean it, Max."Kate continued. "That week was no doubt the worst in my life and I was desperate to end it one way or another." pausing for a second to take a deep breath finding the words to best explain how she had been feeling. "I prayed each night but it felt like there was no one listening-"

Max could feel herself beginning to tear up at hearing Kate talk about the struggle she felt that week. _'You're so much stronger than you think you are Kate. I don't know what I would have done if I wasn't able to save you.'_ She was brought out of her thoughts as she felt Chloe hand on her back rubbing it comfortingly. She briefly looked over at the taller girl and smiling lightly showing her gratitude for the gesture before turning back to Kate.

"-I know you're not a particularly religious person Max, but when I was on the roof, I prayed one last time for a sign... and in that moment, when I turned around and saw you there... hearing the words you said... it felt like you had been sent by God to show me that what I was about to do wasn't part of the plan he had for me and that I should trust that you would bring justice to the evildoers."

Both girls smiled at each other despite the tears forming in their eyes, even Chloe was looking a little misty eyed at Kate's speech.

"Wow, Kate... I-I don't really know what to say. I just... I'm so glad I was able to make it to you in time." Max responded gripping Kate's hands even tighter. She paused for a moment before standing up pulling Kate to her feet as well and into a tight hug causing Kate to squeak slightly at the force.

"Um... sorry Kate." Max apologised as she released Kate.

Kate grinned reassuring Max as they sat back down. "It's ok. I was just surprised that's all."

"Yeah, she has a habit of doing that. I've lost count of how many times Max has basically glomped me over the years,-" Chloe said in agreement having been the target of many a surprise hug by the brunette, especially in the last few weeks.

Kate wasn't sure exactly what glomping was but assumed from the context that Max had always been a physically affectionate person with her friends. Kate, while not one to initiate contact herself, was certainly not one to turn down a hug from a friend, especially when she was feeling down.

"-although, you really do need to keep an eye on where her hands _accidentally_ end up." The grin on her face showed she definitely wasn't complaining about either the glomping or the groping she had been on the receiving end of in recent weeks.

"Chloe!" Max exclaimed, her face going bright red that Chloe would say that sort of thing in front of Kate. _'Oh Dog. Not sure how Kate will take that comment.'_ Looking over at Kate, the younger girl was blushing as well at Chloe's insinuation but didn't look too perturbed by it.

Suddenly Max's phone rang loudly, playing some annoying shrill ring tone. She was slightly glad for the distraction at this point. Pulling her phone from her pocket she checked the caller ID seeing that it was her mother calling.

"Uh... I'm sorry, it's my mom." She explained standing up. "I'll take this outside ok?"

"Sure Max."

"No probs dude, I'll keep Marshmallow entertained till you get back."

She briefly glanced over her shoulder at her friends as she hurriedly moved across the room. Chloe had shifted slightly closer to Kate talking quietly as Kate giggled. Clearly sharing a joke at her expense most likely, but hey as long as they were getting along she didn't mind.

* * *

She exited the room, phone still ringing. Allowing the door to close behind her Max took a moment to prepare herself before answering. She swiped the screen to answer the call and placed the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" her mother's voice came through the handset loud and clear.

"I'm ok Mom, just visiting a friend, Kate, at the hospital."

"Kate... Kate? That's the girl you talked down from the roof, isn't it? Oh, your father and I are so proud of you honey. It must have been so terrible for her."

"Yeah it wasn't a good time for her but she's doing much better now. She'll be back at school next week."

"Well, I certainly hope that she'll be ok. Listen, Maxine, I'm not interrupting you am I? I did want to talk to you about something but if it's not a good time I can call back later."

Max closed her eyes tightly in frustration; she knew what her mother wanted to talk about having had several conversations over email already about how they were concerned about her safety following the reports that had come out of Arcadia Bay after Jefferson arrest. The last few emails she had received from them had even asked her if she would return to Seattle. _'They phrased it as please come home, but the only place I've ever considered home is right here.'_ She hadn't responded to any of them yet, trying to avoid that conversation, but it seemed that time was up; she was going to have to give them an answer now.

"If this is about me moving back to Seattle then I'm gonna say right now I'm not going."Her voice had taken on a steely tone, firm and resolute wanting to make it clear this was not a negotiable situation.

Her mother was a little taken aback at this having never heard her daughter sound so direct about anything in her life.

"Your father and I are worried Maxine. We heard about what happened to those girls, such a sick mind that man had. But that's not the only reason honey. You told us you had applied to Blackwell because of their photography program and that teacher but since that's gone now you need to consider your future. There are plenty of good schools in Seattle-"

"None of that matters Mom." _'I need to be here... be with Chloe.'_

"Maxine-"

"It's Max, never Maxine." Max knew she was being difficult, she didn't mean to be so sharp with her mother. _'She cares about you and you're being an asshole. Stop it.'_

Exhaling through her nose she continued her tone far less argumentative but still just as defiant "Look, I'm sorry Mom. I don't mean to be such a bitch about this but you need to understand. I have friends here, and I want to be there for Kate. Not to mention that it took me so long to get back here, back to Chloe, and I finally have a chance to make it up to her. I'm not leaving her again, not after everything we've been through together."

There was silence from the other end of the line.

"Mom?"

She hadn't mentioned to her parents that Chloe had been part of her reason for pushing so hard to get into Blackwell in the first place. _'They really didn't think about that possibility? Did I even mention to them that we met back up? I could have sworn I had emailed Dad about it. No, wait that happened before I had to rewind and I never resent it. Dammit.'_

She could hear her mother take a deep breath, obviously thrown by what she had just told her. When she did speak there was a slight weariness to her voice "Ok Max. I'll leave this for just now but I do want to discuss this properly. How about your father and I come down to Arcadia Bay in a couple of weeks or so? We haven't seen you since you left in September and we miss you."

"I miss the two of you as well Mom. And I am sorry I didn't mean to snap at you before." Max apologised again, still feeling bad about how she'd spoken to her mother a moment ago. _'We've argued a little before about a few things but I don't think I've ever been like this with her before. Usually, I just give in and avoid the conflict but I can't this time, it's too important.'_

"I know you didn't sweetie. I wasn't trying to upset you. I know your friends mean a lot to you but I just want you to consider your own needs too. You can't always be the one holding everyone else up. Sometimes you need to put yourself first."

"Yeah..." Max's response was non-committal. She could understand what her mother was saying but it went against her nature. She had taken after her father in that regard, he was always the more willing of her parents to put himself out to help someone in need. Not to say her mother wasn't a kind or caring person but she was more likely to look out for her and her own first.

"I'll let you get back to your friends Maxine but please say hi to Chloe for us too. It'd be nice to see her and Joyce again."

"I will Mom. I'm sure Joyce would love to see you and Dad too."

After saying goodbye and hanging up, Max leant against the wall tilting her head back and closed her eyes. She could feel her back and neck had become tense over the course of the phone call and would need time to relax properly. She remained like that for a moment considering how she was going to tell Chloe and stressing about what would happen once they came to Arcadia Bay. It wasn't until she heard the door to Kate's room opening beside that she opened her eyes and lifted her head forward again.

"Was just coming to check on ya. What's up? You look like someone kicked your puppy."

Seeing Chloe standing there, Max stepped forward and immediately wrapped her arms around her waist, her face pressed into the crook of her neck. _'Only if I'm the puppy. Dammit, why did Mom's call get to me like this.'_

"Hey, what's the matter?" Chloe asked softly, reaching a hand up to the back of Max's head and running a hand through her hair gently.

"Just parent's, you know." Max replied her voice muffled slightly from her position under Chloe's chin. _'I'll tell her later. Now isn't the time, I'm too wound up right now to get into it properly.'_ After a while, she could feel her neck and back un-tensing at the sensation of Chloe's hand combing through her hair. She let herself enjoy the embrace for a few moments longer before pulling away and smiling up at the punk.

Chloe looked at her, love and concern openly visible in her expression. "You gonna be ok?"

Returning Chloe's look with one of her own filled with just as much affection, Max responded, "Yeah... as long as I'm here with you."


	11. Haunting Pasts (Switches POV)

Sunday mornings in the Price-Madsen household were usually quiet. Joyce was at work, as she was most Sundays with it being one of busiest days of the week at the diner, and David, after taking care of any household repairs that were needed, would take the opportunity to work on his car in peace. Chloe would either be crashed out till around mid-day or not present at all due to going for a drive in the early hours of the morning because she couldn't sleep.

This morning was a little different however as Chloe was already up and making a start to tidying her room. There was also an addition to the household this weekend as Max had stayed over once again and was currently sat at the dining table finishing off a bowl of cereal she had poured for herself. _'Cereal is ok, but it's no match for Joyce's bacon omelette.'_

Max relaxed back into her chair taking a moment to reflect on her surroundings, she could hear the faint thump of music coming from Chloe's room and the occasional clanging of tools coming from the garage where David was currently holed up. Other than those noises there was little sign of activity.

' _It's awesome I get to spend my weekends here again. Might not be quite the same as it was when we were kids, but I always feel at home here. More than I can say about Seattle.'_

Max found herself involuntarily frowning as the memories of her conversation with her mother came to the forefront of her thoughts once more. She still felt bad about snapping at her mother, she hadn't deserved it, but Max couldn't help the anger that had surfaced when the suggestion that she should return to Seattle was made yet again.

It wasn't until she and Chloe had gone to bed that night that she had told her about the emails and the details of her phone call. ' _Chloe didn't really say very much after that, but I could feel her holding me tighter like she was afraid I would fade away if she didn't. Even once she was long asleep, she never let up her grip on me. To be honest, I don't blame her for reacting that way.'_ She rubbed the bridge of her nose before sighing. _'Why can't Mom and Dad understand that I need to be here?'_

While Max was lost in thought, the door to the garage at the other side of the living room opened suddenly. Looking over in the direction of the noise, Max saw David walk through into the living room, scrubbing his forearms with an old towel to remove the oil and dirt from working on the engine of his muscle car. He looked a little tense, even by his standards, Max thought.

"Is Chloe up and decent yet? I need to have a word with her."

* * *

Chloe trailed around her room picking up the numerous empty beer bottles and scrap paper lying around her bedroom floor. _'I'm surprised Max didn't refuse to stay here once she saw how messy I let this place get. Plus the beer bottles all over the place, way to make yourself look like an alcoholic.'_

After placing the last few bottles into a bin bag she dropped it over by her desk. Returning to the far corner beside her dresser, she picked up the musty old suitcase that had been lying open on her floor for some months. _'This thing was gonna be for when me and Rach left town...'_ Sighing she shook her head. ' _I should probably stick it in back in the attic since I'm not gonna need it now.'_

For a few minutes, Chloe pottered back and forward picking up various bits of rubbish before deciding to tackle the pile of books and paperwork strewn over her desk, remnants of her research into Max's newly developed powers and investigation into Rachel's disappearance. While in the midst of disconnecting her laptop, in order to make clearing the desk easier, she heard a knock on her door, loud enough to be heard clearly over the music currently playing on her stereo.

"Chloe? Can we talk?" Came the gruff voice from the other side which Chloe immediately recognised as her stepfather.

' _At least he learned to knock rather than just barging in.'_ Chloe thought, recalling the numerous times her step-father had done so. She stomped over to the door opening it widely and swung her arm back indicating for him to enter. As David walked past her, she turned and made her way over to the stereo turning down the volume before sitting down on the edge of her bed, while David moved over toward her desk and stood looking out the window, his arms crossed behind his back.

"My missing gun has made a sudden reappearance." David stated pointedly, turning his head to look over his shoulder at the punk and raising an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" he asked unable to prevent the not so small trace of sarcasm from colouring his tone.

Chloe just shrugged not wanting to get into that particular argument again having had it out with David over the gun a few times since she originally took it.

He softened his tone realising he was being confrontational which would only get the punks back up. "I'm not looking for a fight this time. I'm just..." He huffed uncomfortably. "Look, as long as the gun doesn't go ' _missing'_ again then we shouldn't have any more issues, alright?"

"It won't." Chloe replied as she dipped her head avoiding eye contact, adding under her breath "Didn't do me any good anyhow." She was beginning to feel more uncomfortable with every passing second under the gaze of her stepfather.

"There is something else I wanted to talk to you about too." Reaching into his back pocket David took out a piece of paper that was folded in quarters. He stared down at the folded paper sighing deeply. "I was going to ask you why you felt like you needed a gun in the first place, but after I saw this... I..." he explained swallowing with some difficulty as he held it out toward Chloe. "I just wish you had come to me instead."

Chloe looked up at David as she took the piece of paper from him, frowning slightly at his comment. Examining it she could feel that it was made from thick photo paper not just normal printer paper, like the fancy stuff she had seen at Blackwell during her time there. Unfolding it slowly she found that it contained the last thing she had ever expected to see.

"Jesus..." Chloe breathed out, the shock of the image in front of her was almost too much to handle. It was one thing to have the hazy memory of the incident, which by now she could almost completely put to the back of her mind, but to be confronted with this, with hard evidence of the event made her feel sick. Nearly as sick as she had felt the in the days after it had happened.

"It's up to you how you want to handle this-" David started to explain but was cut off by Chloe's outburst.

"Where the hell did you get this!" Chloe practically growled, closing her eyes she tried to block out the image from the photo, the image of her lying semi-conscious, in a drugged state, on the floor of Nathan Prescott's dorm room. _'Oh God, I never want to think about that night again. If he hadn't fucked up the dosage I-I... I don't even want to go there.'_

"I took it from that piece of shit Prescott's dorm last week, along with that damn note of yours." David explained. He had been asked to search Nathan Prescott's dorm room after Jefferson had confessed to his murder and his involvement in the activities at the Dark Room. "I wanted to talk to you about it but it never seemed like a good time." The conversation was feeling more and more difficult. He sighed shortly before asking "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Why didn't I tell you?" Chloe repeated incredulously her voice getting higher pitched as she continued "Would you have even believed me if I had? Figured you'd probably try to blame me for ending up in that situation in the first place. I mean s'not like you haven't blamed me for every bad decision or stupid thing I've ever done like I personally did it to fuck with you before."

She looked up at David when he didn't respond immediately. His head was hung low, he looked tired and upset, his fists balled at his side. _'Is he about to cry or something? Fuck, I think he might.'_

After a few moments of silence, David slowly approached his step-daughter, stopping in front of her. His head was still down and his hands were now placed on his hips. When he did speak he was quiet and there was a slight tremor in his voice that Chloe had never heard from him before.

"Christ, Chloe. Is that really what you think of me? That I don't care about what happens to you? You think I'd ever want to see you in that sort of situation... or worse?"

Chloe was the one who kept quiet this time. She knew that agreeing would be unfair, both Max and her mother were certainly of the mind that he cared about her a lot, but she couldn't see what they so obviously did, and she couldn't honestly say that she hadn't felt like that at the time. The only response she could give was a dejected shrug and shook her head, looking away from her step-father's gaze. "I... I dunno..."

David let out a deep sigh. "I'm not the bad guy you make me out to be some days. I promised your mother I would keep you safe. That's why I'm so hard on you; I was trying to protect you." When he received no response he continued. "Look, I'm goin' leave this up to you to decide how you want to proceed, but I don't think your mother can take much more of us at each other's throats. I'm not sure I can either."

With that, David turned and walked toward the door pausing just as he reached for the handle. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Chloe who was still sat at the end of the bed staring down at the photo in her hands. "For what it's worth, I am sorry Chloe... for everything."

* * *

Having finished her cereal and cleared away her bowl Max had returned to her journal, continuing to detail the events of her weekend so far and trying to organise her thoughts. A polaroid of her, Kate, and Chloe squished into frame, taken at the hospital, accompanied yesterday's entry. _'I know she would try to pretend otherwise but Chloe was kinda nervous about visiting Kate. It was pretty cute seeing her so worried about whether Kate liked her or not.'_

Her attention was drawn away from writing as David descended the stairs, his even footsteps falling into a march as he walked right past her and back into the garage without saying a word. He closed the door behind him with some force, causing the plates in the cabinet next to the door to rattle. _'What the hell happened? Did he and Chloe get into an argument again?'_

It was only a few seconds later that Max heard another door slam, this time upstairs, followed by the sound of Chloe's footsteps heavily bounding down the stairs. As Chloe rounded the corner Max could see she looked pissed off.

"We gotta get out of here. You coming?"Chloe asked harshly, jerking her head in the direction of the front door.

"Chloe, what's going on? What did David want?" Max asked concerned about what had caused Chloe to become so upset considering she had been in a fairly good mood when they had woken up.

"Now, Max. Grab your shit and let's go!" Was the only response given as Chloe stormed toward the door, grabbing her jacket as she went.

Max rushed to pack away her journal and camera into her messenger bag before jogging toward where Chloe had just gone. She exited the house, closing the door securely behind her, and darted toward Chloe's truck, climbing into the cab. Max had expected Chloe to peel out of the driveway with wheels spinning, as she was prone to do when in a mood, but instead, she was sat quietly with one hand on the wheel, the other on the keys in the ignition, and her head down.

"Max, back there... I'm sorry... I'm... yeah..." Chloe apologised, regret clear in her voice.

"It's OK, Chloe." Max tried to placate her as she knew Chloe's anger wasn't directed at her.

"No. It isn't." Chloe stated more firmly this time as she looked over toward Max. "I shouldn't be taking shit out on you. I'm sorry." With that, she started the ignition and pulled out of the driveway carefully.

* * *

It was a short drive to the beachfront where Chloe pulled up at the edge of the small parking lot just off from the main road. The beach was empty; the low mid morning sun making the colours seemed muted as the waves rolled gently across the sand. To the side of the parking lot was a flat concrete pathway connecting the roadside to the boardwalk that reached all the way to the far side of the Bay, where the harbour was located. Franks RV could also be seen parked a short distance away, just under the shade provided by the looming evergreen trees.

Back in the cab of Chloe's truck, Chloe broke the silence that had fallen. "If you check the glove box, you'll find Frank's stuff in there."

Max reached for the latch, having to try it a few times before it clicked and dropped down. She reached inside grabbing the black log book and customer list from the top of the mess of old parking tickets and gas receipts. Closing the glove box, she sat back and looked at Chloe as she nervously adjusted her bag strap. Chloe was sat forward, her forearms resting on the steering wheel as she leant her chin on her hands. She didn't appear in a rush to go see Frank, but she also didn't seem to want to talk about what had happened just yet either, if the quiet avoidance of conversation was any indication.

"Why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up with you in a sec." Chloe suggested only brief glancing over to Max before staring out of the front windscreen at the ocean again.

"Chloe, are you gonna be ok?"Max asked beginning to get concerned about how withdrawn Chloe was right now.

Chloe nodded, still not quite looking at Max. She did, however, reach over and rub Max's arm reassuringly. "Yeah, just give me a minute? Please?" There was a tightness to her voice when she said please that Max knew meant this wasn't something she should push right now.

* * *

As Max approached the RV she could see Frank sat on a folding chair facing away from her direction. He had a beer in one hand and the other was hanging over the arm of his chair gently scratching Pompidou's head, who was laid by his side happily relaxing and enjoying the fresh air of the waterfront.

 _'They look so calm. I wonder if Frank would mind me taking a picture?'_ Max thought but before she could reach into her bag and grab her camera Pompidou noticed her arrival and barked alerting Frank.

Since Pompidou had only barked the once and seemed content to remain lying down, Frank knew the new arrival wasn't trouble, but still twisted his head round to see who was there. Spotting Max, he called out. "Hey there girlie, what'cha doing out here? Chloe with you?"

"Hi, Frank" Max greeted him, smiling gently. "Yeah. She's in her truck." nodding her head back toward to truck behind her.

While Max had originally been troubled by Franks involvement in Chloe's life, and even slightly frightened by his rough appearance and behaviour, particularly at the junkyard when he had pulled his knife on them, she had come to realise he wasn't an evil man just someone who had been dealt a shit deal in life.

As Max continued toward him, Frank hoisted himself out of the chair, downing the remainder of his beer as he stood. Pompidou took this as permission to rise as well and made a beeline for Max, trotting happily over to her with his tail wagging.

"Hey, boy. How are you?" Max bent down petting Pompidou affectionately as he readily accepted the attention, barking lightly in response. Max giggled at his behaviour, a much different sight from her first encounter with him in the diner parking lot. _'I'm sorry I ever compared you to Cujo.'_

"Think he likes you." Frank said as he sauntered over. "But I don't imagine you're here just to play with my dog though."

Max shook her head standing back up, while Pompidou remained at her feet. "We wanted to give you these back." She reached into her bag pulling out the log book and customer list and held them out for him. "Sorry that we took them without asking. Uh... the log book anyway."

Frank reached out to take the documents "Thanks, kid." Adding, muttering confusedly under his breath, "Still have no idea how the hell you got into my RV in the first place."

Max smiled at the memory of her attempts to take his keys at the diner. She felt a little bad that she had erased his memory of events by rewinding, but maybe it was a good thing he didn't remember her spilling his beans or beer over him that day. _'It was pretty mean; funny, but mean.'_

As Max watched him look over the paperwork that had been returned, her earlier curiosity about the names on the list and the dog breeds used as a cypher arose once more. _'I always wondered why he called them those breeds. Like, why is Chloe 'Bulldog'?'_

"Hey, Frank?" She called out, waiting for him to turn his attention back to her from the papers he was sifting through. She shifted her weight to her other foot and adjusted her bag strap. "Um, on your customer list you give everyone dog names right?" He nodded at this statement, "Well I noticed that Chloe was called 'Bulldog', and I was wondering why?"

Frank took a moment to consider the question, scratching his chin. "Hmm, most of the time it's either something physical, like their hair style or facial features or something. Other times it's their personality that makes me think of a particular breed." he began his explanation. "With Chloe, I called her 'Bulldog' because as a breed they're headstrong but loyal to those they trust. They might disobey you if they don't like what you're ordering them to do but they'd do anything to protect their owners, even if it puts them in danger. They can be smart too when they want to be, but usually act like clowns, so they're good at making you laugh."

 _'Wowser. That sounds like Chloe alright.'_ Max thought. _'She's definitely is protective of the people she cares about and I don't think anyone would question her loyalty when she was the only one looking for Rachel for months by herself...'_

Unbeknown to Max, Chloe had left her truck and was only a few metres behind them at this point, however, Frank had spotted her approach and since she was close enough to hear them he decided to have some fun with her. Max noticed the smirk tugging at his lips as he continued but didn't think much of it.

"See that's what I'd tell ya normally." He paused, catching Chloe's eye before he continued. "But the truth is; I called her 'Bulldog' because she's an ugly fucker, and Rach always said she'd slobber all over you given half the chance."His delivery was followed by a short coughing laugh.

"Hey! Fuck you too Frank. Ugly? Take a look in a mirror ya mangy mutt." Was Chloe's eloquent response which she barked out surprising Max at her sudden appearance. Despite the seemingly pissed off tone of her response, there was no real anger present, more like a general grumbling at Frank's enjoyment of pushing her buttons.

"What? You gonna tell me it ain't the truth." Frank continued, enjoying riling up the younger punk.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Frank as she reached Max's side and bumped her shoulder lightly. "Can you believe this guy?"

Max smiled seeing Chloe and Frank joking around with each other and watched as they fist bumped in greeting, a sign of their developing friendship. _'They really bonded over Rachel. Never thought they'd end up as friends after everything that happened between the three of them.'_

* * *

The interior of the RV was dark due to the blinds being closed, as they usually were to prevent anyone seeing in while he was parked up at the diner or the school. Frank entered the vehicle, having left Pompidou outside to play with Max who was happily throwing a large stick for him to retrieve.

Frank rolled his shoulders and neck to loosen them as he walked to the back of the RV to store the returned paperwork. After placing the log book back into the air vent in the bedroom area he moved back to the kitchen and grabbed himself another beer from the mini fridge and opened it up using the bottle opener attached to the wall.

"Any chance I could get one of those?" Chloe asked, her head suddenly poking in from outside, a light smile on display.

Trying not to roll his eyes and without saying anything Frank stretched his arm out, offering the beer to Chloe who quickly clambered up the steps of the RV to grab the bottle.

"How you been holding up dude?" Chloe asked as she took a swig of her beer and immediately screwed her face up at the taste. "Fuck. What the shit is this piss water?" She asked glaring at the label in disgust, as though the bottle itself was to blame.

"You complaining about a free beer?" Frank asked, his eyebrows raised.

"When it tastes like this? Hella yeah, I am." Chloe continued to complain but made no effort to give back the beer, instead taking another drink.

Frank just shook his head, chuckling slightly, and opened the fridge grabbing another beer to replace the one he had given Chloe. Opening it up, he smirked as he raised the bottle to his mouth and chugged down about a third of the bottle. "It helps if you don't let it hit the sides on the way down. Besides, business ain't exactly booming considering what happened, so gotta make do with the cheap stuff."

Chloe just nodded in response, not exactly sure what to say. With Jefferson behind bars and Nathan dead, two of Frank's best customers were gone. Not to mention most of his regulars were probably frightened of getting involved with any deals while the police had been investigating around the Bay in the last few weeks.

"To be honest, though, I don't think I want that sort of business back." Frank shrugged and took another sip, the weight of his decision to get involved in supplying Nathan with the drugs used to sedate the girls he and Jefferson had kidnapped and assaulted, including his own lioness, Rachel Amber, fell heavily on his shoulders for a moment.

Chloe knew the look on his face. It was an expression she had worn herself a few times, anger mixed with regret and guilt, perhaps not for the same reasons but the feeling was the same nonetheless. But before she could say anything to him, Frank moved away, walking back towards the bedroom area.

She watched him with curiosity as he ducked down and pulled out a small metal box from under the bed frame. He stood back up still facing away, which blocked her from seeing what he was doing until he turned around, his arm extended toward her, holding onto a brown envelope.

"Here." He said, indicating to Chloe to take it from him.

Chloe looked at him quizzically, her eyebrows raised, "What is it?" she asked reaching out and taking the envelope from him. Taking a look inside she saw what looked like a couple of thousand dollars. _'What the hell? Is this...?'_ She now recognised the envelope as the one she and Max had taken from Principal Wells' drawer, the so-called Handicap Fund which had been little more than a bribe from the Prescott's to cover up Nathan's behaviour and maintain his spotless record.

"When you paid me back you gave me more than the three grand you were due, a lot more. I was going to consider it interest for being late on your repayments but it don't feel right, not after everything." Frank explained.

"Frank... I-"Chloe started to speak but paused _'Fuck, that's the money we took from Blackwell. If anyone caught me with it...'_ She closed the envelope and made to hand it back to Frank. "I can't take it, dude."

"Why not?" He asked intrigued by Chloe's refusal of the money. His eyes narrowed as he asked, "Where did you get the money?"

"Um, to be honest, it's... it's probably better you don't know. You keep it. Use it for something, like, I dunno, buying some better fucking beer for starters." Chloe tried to joke to deflect from telling him about where the money had come from. She could see him trying to read her expression, which she hoped was as neutral as possible.

He hesitated for a moment before taking the envelope back. "You didn't rob somebody for this shit, did you?"

"I didn't rob _someone._ Ok?" Chloe answered folding her arms across her chest. While technically true, she hadn't robbed anyone; the money was still stolen and could result in trouble if the break in at the school was ever connected to her. Thankfully it seemed that with everything else going on, and with the money being an under the table payment from the Prescott's, it hadn't been reported as missing but Chloe didn't want to take any chances. "We were looking for clues about Rachel, and Max thought you might be more likely to talk if you'd been paid."

"Is that right?" Frank took a swig of his beer, shaking his head slightly. "I shoulda known it was your girlfriend that'd have the balls to pull something like that."

"She's not my girlfriend du-" Chloe started to correct.

"Bullshit!" Frank interjected. "You can deny it all you want but even an idiot can see you're head over heels for that chick. Whenever I've seen you with her you turn into a slobbering puppy wanting its belly rubbed. It's kinda adorable in all honesty." As much as he was being earnest he couldn't help but antagonise her a little.

The only response Chloe could muster was a vaguely mumbled "Fuck off" which was lacking any bite behind the words. She couldn't believe that not only her mother knew how she felt about Max but Frank could see it too. _'Am I that easy to read? I don't have the right to call Max my girlfriend considering I'm the one that asked for time, but best friend sure as shit doesn't cover it anymore. It hasn't for a while now.'_

Frank turned away from her, toward the window. He reached out and pulled the curtain back slightly in order to look out at the beach front. From here the pair could see Max sat down leaning back against a large rock a few feet away from Franks folding chair and table. Pompidou, having gotten bored of fetching the stick Max had been throwing for him earlier, lay by her side, practically in her lap, enjoying the head scratches she was providing.

A slight smile tugged at Frank's lips seeing the scene outside as he thought about the few, but memorable, times he had met the young photographer. He had to admit that despite him being what most would call a scary guy, the fire and determination behind the eyes of the disarmingly quiet and otherwise unassuming brunette had creeped him out a little at first. He had gotten the feeling that she wasn't to be messed with, especially when it came to Chloe.

"Most people don't ever have someone who's willing to fight their corner for them as much that girl is for you." He looked back at the younger punk who had locked eyes on Max, her attention glued to the younger teen. "You remember when she pulled a gun on me? I mean, shit Chloe, if your dumbass had put even one more bullet in the cylinder she would have damn near killed me to protect you."

Chloe continued to look out of the window, lips pursed and brows knitting together as she was deep in thought. _'Never really thought about what would have happened if she had actually shot Frank. Max doesn't get the luxury of rewind amnesia like the rest of us, she'd have to live with that memory for the rest of her life. She already has a head full of enough shitty memories thanks to me...'_ Chloe looked away from where Max was sat and back down at the bottle in her hands, a little despondently. The reminder of one of another of less than intelligent moments in the last few weeks smarting a little more than it normally would.

Frank just watched as Chloe just continued to sulk into her beer, he couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for her. He knew that Chloe was often difficult to handle when she was fell into one of her moods, but seeing her looking kinda pathetic was making him want to shake some sense into her.

"You probably _don't_ want to hear this from me but..." Frank sighed, he was unsettled to find himself in this position but here he was, giving life advice to someone who he had considered a rival for his lover's attention, and had until recently been an antagonist to him. "Don't fuck up whatever it is that the two of you do have by moping in the past like you usually do."

"What do you mean?"Chloe responded, her voice tight, glaring at him. She was starting to get antsy with the conversation having been turned to her love life and wasn't sure what Frank was trying to get at.

"Chloe, people like you and me, we're the type to hold a grudge if someone wrongs us. But with you, it's like you get stuck going over the same shit that's happened time and time again. It's what screwed things up for you before-" The words 'with Rachel' were what Frank was about the end that sentence with, however, he was able to hold them back at the last moment. Just thinking about Rachel still hurt deep for both of them and he knew bringing her up in relation to this topic was probably the worst thing he could do.

He took another slow sip of his beer before speaking again. His voice gravelly carrying a weight to the words he spoke. "The only advice I can give you is to move forward kid. It's all any of us can do if we wanna live."


	12. Craving Simplicity (Max POV)

Max closed the door to Chloe's room behind her, carefully trying to balance the plates and glasses she was carrying in one arm as she pulled the door with the other. Given the earlier events of the day Chloe hadn't really been in the mood for a family dinner with David and Joyce, instead preferring to eat in her room.

After they'd returned from visiting Frank, Chloe had apologised for again for lashing out at her and told her about the conversation with David. When Chloe handed her the photo of her on Nathan's dorm room floor, Max's stomach had twisted. _'I hate that Chloe had to deal with that alone. I... I should have destroyed that photo when I had the chance.'_ While it wouldn't have stopped it from happening in the first place, it would have at least prevented Chloe from having to relive the events of that night.

It was clear that Chloe was still conflicted about David, and considering Max's initial impression of him as a judgmental control freak who wouldn't listen she could see why Chloe hadn't trusted him, but in time she had come to understand that his bite wasn't as bad as his bark. _'David does care about Chloe, but he sucks at showing that side of himself, although, Chloe probably doesn't help when she's just as stubborn sometimes.'_ It hadn't been until Max had pointed out that David could get into serious trouble for removing evidence before the police searched his dorm, along with her for attempting to blackmail Nathan that the weight of his actions began to sink in for Chloe.

As Max descended the stairs she could hear Joyce humming along to whatever tune was playing from the small TV in the corner of the kitchen counter, which was only just audible over the running faucet. When she got to the bottom step she heard David speak.

"You sure you don't want me to deal with the dishes? You've been on your feet all day." David asked as he cleared away the remaining cutlery and glasses from the table before walking over to where Joyce was standing beside the kitchen sink. Despite working a full day shift on a busy Sunday, Joyce had still insisted on cooking dinner.

"Well, aren't you the gentleman tonight?" Joyce smiled sweetly at his offer as she reached out to take the glasses from him. "Thank you darlin', but I'm fine. Go on, you just relax and I'll get these done in no time."

David, with a slight upturn to his lips, nodded briefly, knowing when he was being dismissed. He leant in giving her a brief but loving kiss and gently caressed her lower back. "Alright, just let me know if you need me."

Max stood in the archway, feeling a little awkward. She was never really sure what to do when parents showed affection in front of her, let alone someone else's parents and especially David considering how odd a sight it was. _'It's not like I thought Joyce would be with someone who didn't treat her right but I never pictured David as an affectionate person.'_ She watched as David walked away, only pausing momentarily to pick up a bottle of beer from the fridge before returning to the living room area.

Joyce returned her attention to the sink, turning off the faucet, and began to place some of the plates into the warm soapy water. With the music playing, and the noise now coming from the TV in the living room, she didn't hear Max moving behind her.

"Um... Hey, Joyce." Max called out, causing Joyce to jump a little at her sudden appearance.

"Oh, Max!" Joyce gasped as she spun around to face the brunette, placing a hand over her heart in an exaggerated fashion. "You trying to give an old woman a heart attack?"

"You're not that old Joyce." Max replied almost reflexively, as she set the dishes she was carrying down on the counter beside the rest.

"But you are a quiet one; sneaking up on me like that. Hmm, maybe I should get a bell to put around your neck so I can hear you coming next time." Joyce joked smiling gently with a slight twinkle in her eye.

Max smiled at Joyce's suggestion, but it didn't entirely reach her eyes. Too many thoughts and worries going through her mind about Chloe, her parents, school... _'I thought after everything that happened to us that week that life would seem easier in comparison, but it seems the older I get the more complicated everything is.'_

"Help me dry?" Joyce asked.

Max blinked at the object that suddenly appeared in front of her. Slowly realising what the older woman had said she shook herself from her musing, reaching out for what she now saw was a dish towel in Joyce's hand. "Sure. I can dry."

For a few moments, only the sounds of clinking plates and glasses were heard as Joyce began to wipe the first of the plates. Joyce brow furrowed with concern as she observed Max beside her. Over the years she had come to think of Max as a second daughter, basically having helped raise her until her teenage years when the Caulfield's had left Arcadia, and in those years she had gotten good at recognising when the younger girl was troubled by something. The question was, though, by what. May as well start with the obvious area of concern Joyce thought.

"Chloe giving you any trouble?" Joyce asked still with a joking tone. "Need me to talk some sense into that girl?"

Max paused momentarily before picking up a plate from the drying rack. "No. We're good. Um, I mean..." She trailed off, not entirely sure what to say. _'What_ do _you mean, huh, Max?'_ The many things Max could say flew through her mind. There was no point in pretending she wasn't worried about something. ' _I can't tell her everything but maybe I could ask her about how to deal with Mom.'_ "It's not her that's bothering me. It's my parents, well, my Mom anyway..."

"How do you mean?" Joyce prompted gently, seeing the darkening expression on the younger girls face.

"They want to come down to visit in a few weeks, which is fine, I want to see them both too, but Mom... ever since she and Dad found out about... about what happened, she keeps asking me about going to school back in Seattle." Max hesitated, focusing on drying the plate she was holding and placing it down before she spoke again. "I kinda snapped at her. I didn't mean to, but..." Evidently, she still felt a little bit guilty about her reaction.

"I'm sure she knows that, honey. 'Ness would never hold that against you." The reassuring tone helped sooth Max's conscious a little but she still looked troubled. Joyce knew she'd have to do a bit more. "It's always difficult for parents to start thinking of their kids as adults, and you know how your mother was when you and Chloe would go off on your adventures by yourselves, running around getting into all sorts of things. I always knew you were safe with Chloe looking out for you but your mother used to worry like nothing else."

Max frowned again, slowly picking up another plate. "I know... but she needs to realise I'm not a little kid anymore." The frustration was building again. "I just don't know how to make her understand I'm not leaving Arcadia..." Her tone grew more determined. "I'm not leaving Chloe again."

"I'm relieved to hear you say that, Max." Joyce said softly, a little bit of sadness tingeing her tone. "I'd hate to see the two of you lose touch again after getting back together."

Clearly, the idea of her daughter being left alone again was a concern for the older woman and while Max knew that Joyce would never say, she wondered if she had ever blamed her, even just for a moment, for contributing to Chloe's difficulties over the last five years. _'I'm not making the same mistakes I made before. I won't let her down again I promise you, Joyce.'_

"Would it help if I had a word with her, maybe get her to ease up on the whole going back to Seattle thing if she knows David and I are looking out for you?" Joyce offered. She knew Vanessa could be a little overbearing at times, especially when it came to her only child's safety. But she couldn't blame her for being worried for Max when the same concerns had gone through her mind for her own daughter after David told her about the bunker.

Max sighed and shook her head, grabbing another plate from the drying rack. She felt the ever growing weight of responsibility pushing her. "I think I need to handle her myself. Like you've said before, I'm an adult now, and I need to start standing up for myself."

Joyce chuckled fondly. "You're still young, Max. These things take time. Just remember that part of being an adult is knowing when you need to ask for help too. Don't try to take all of this on your own shoulders. I'm here for you, no matter what, you know that right?"

"I do..." Max replied quietly. "Thanks, Joyce."

"Right, I think that's us done here." Joyce said as she turned on the tap to rinse out the last of the glasses before setting them down in the drying rack. "Tell you what, darlin', why don't I give your mother a call and sort out when she's coming down. It'd be good to catch up with her and Ryan again after all this time." She offered. "Maybe, if they haven't got any other plans, we could try to sort something out nearer Thanksgiving?"

* * *

Max reached the top of the stairs, on her way back to Chloe's room, feeling a little lighter than she had on the way down. The conversation with Joyce had helped relieve some of the stress she had been feeling all day. _'Hopefully, Mom will listen to Joyce. At the very least I know Dad will. He and William always used to be pretty chill about things.'_

As she neared Chloe's door, she could hear the faint sound of music coming within. Opening the door she stepped around the bin bags left from Chloe's earlier attempt at cleaning her room, which had been interrupted. Before Max had gone downstairs Chloe had been set at her desk using her laptop but now she was sitting on the edge of her bed, a joint between her lips, hunched over slightly with a scowl on her face. She gave no indication of having noticed Max's return as she stared down intently at something in her hands.

Max approached slowly, making her way towards Chloe and sat down gently beside her. From here she could see the item Chloe was holding was the photo of her in Nathan's room. She had a tight grip of the photo, crumpling the edges up.

The silence was heavy, making the air in the room seem too thick, the smoke from Chloe's joint barely curling around her head as it hung there. Max didn't know what to say. From her own experience with Jefferson, she knew a few words wouldn't fix things. It felt too little to simply say 'he's dead now, he can't hurt you anymore' because it runs deeper than the part of your mind that is so easily convinced by words, but she felt she had to say something. However, before she could, Chloe's voice cut through her thoughts.

"The worst part of it is how weak it made me feel." Chloe spoke; her low tone had none of her usual energy or even anger in it. "Not the drugs... Afterwards, I mean." She clarified after a moment. The experience had shaken her pretty badly. The cocky swagger she fronted became all she had in the few days after, her confidence rocked. Everything that led up to that night, and the events that followed it, were clawing at her mind as she struggled to lock those particular memories back down.

She sighed unsteadily, putting the joint down in the ashtray on the bed beside her, her hands trembling slightly. "Fuck..." Dropping the photo, she brought her hands to her head, covering her face briefly before running them through her faded blue and blonde hair. She then dropped them back down, her forearms leaning against her knees as she hunched forward.

' _Oh, Chloe...'_ It pained Max to see Chloe like this but she understood the feeling. She reached out a hand placing it in the middle of the taller girls back, gently running it up and down, hoping that the physical contact would give her some comfort.

A few moments passed in silence before Chloe spoke again. "The other day, when we talked about... about stuff, you said I made you feel safe?"

"Yeah, you do." Max replied instantly. "You always have."

"Why? I mean-" Chloe replied disbelievingly, suddenly standing up as she began pacing back and forward "I couldn't protect Rachel. Fuck I couldn't even take care of myself. How can you trust me to protect you? To keep you safe when I fucked up as much as I did?" Her tone was distressed, her long-standing fear of not being able to protect those she loved coming to the surface, no longer able to be suppressed. "I nearly got you kille-"

"Chloe! Stop it!" Max exclaimed. She quickly rose to her feet as well, intercepting Chloe as she reached the cabinet beside her stereo, and took a hold of her arms. "St-stop beating yourself up ok?" Chloe halted in her pacing but was avoiding meeting her gaze. "Look at me, Chloe. Please?"

Slowly Chloe raised her eyes to meet Max's. The normally bright and lively blue Max was used to seeing was muted, displaying just how vulnerable Chloe was at that moment.

"You can't blame yourself for what they did." Max started in a gentle tone, wanting to reassure her. "You aren't responsible for what happened to Rachel, or to me."

"But I-" Chloe made to interject.

"No." Max cut her off before she could say anything further. "You are not responsible, Ok?" Chloe didn't respond but at least she didn't seem like she was going to argue any further.

Letting go of Chloe's arms Max moved back toward the bed where the photo had been dropped on the ground. Chloe turned, her eyes following Max as she squatted down to pick up the photo. Max paused after looking down at the image. Again the feeling of disgust and anger filled her for what Nathan had done, for how he had hurt Chloe, and how he was still causing her pain even after his death. _'I'm not a violent person normally but... if he wasn't dead already I-I...'_ She quashed those thoughts before they had a chance to go too far and stood back up.

Taking a second to breathe in deeply and slowly release it Max turned back around to face Chloe once more. Reaching out she took a hold of Chloe's hand softly squeezing it before tugging her back toward the bed to sit down again. The way she docilely complied worried Max a little, but she was determined to help Chloe feel strong again.

"Remember when we were kids, and we would talk about how we were going to travel the world when we grew up." Max asked taking a slightly different tack, hoping it would get Chloe talking once more.

It took a moment but an involuntary smile tugged at Chloe's lips at the memory of their numerous conversations as children about what their future would hold. "Yeah, you always wanted to be a photographer and explorer. I was gonna be your bodyguard..." But it didn't last, the feelings of her perceived failure still stinging.

"You already are, Che." Max responded gently. "You protected me so many times that week." It was the truth, but the way Chloe frowned slightly in confusion seemed to indicate she didn't think so. _'Did she even realise that she was doing it? The way she stepped in front of David, Nathan, and Frank? '_

"I know you were scared, I was too." Max began to explain, continuing to hold the taller girls hands. "But you are _so_ much braver than anyone else I know, and even when you were scared you always made sure I was safe first."

"Had to. Didn't want you to get hurt because of my bullshit." Chloe said, sounding calmer than before but still obviously struggling to accept what Max was saying. Her own mind arguing against her.

"That's why you make me feel safe though Chlo. I know that when you're around you'll always look out for me, even if you're scared as well." Max explained, trying to convey just how much she trusted Chloe and needed her still. _'I promise I'll do the same for you too.'_

At first, Chloe was as despondent as before, but slowly the acceptance that she had fulfilled her end of their childhood dreams began to sink in, she hesitantly nodded a few times as if to force herself to agree.

"Y-yeah..." A shaky sigh and a more certain nod of her head followed as Chloe looked down at their joined hands. "Will you always need me to be your bodyguard?" she asked her voice a little nervous, a hopeful expression on her face as she briefly glanced back up at the smaller girl.

Max let go of Chloe's hands and scooted closer; resting her head on Chloe's shoulder as the taller girl's arm automatically came round to hold her to her side. "I'll always want you to be my bodyguard. That will never change." Closing her eyes she nuzzled into Chloe's neck placing her arms around her waist.

It had been festering for a while, normally under a tight lock and key in the darker parts of her mind until it had been brought to the forefront once more but for Chloe, having Max in her arms, hearing her tell her that she wasn't to blame for what happened, that she was still worthy of the younger girl's trust despite everything that had happened, was a huge relief. It would take time for her to fully accept but for now, the tightness she had felt in her chest, built up over the course of the day, finally began to ease.


	13. Two Minds (Chloe POV)

It was fairly early in the morning when Chloe woke up, for once feeling like she had had a good night's sleep. Yesterday had been emotionally draining but the morning brought a little more peace to her. A few quiet words from Max and holding the smaller girl all night as they slept had settled the whirlwind of self-doubt down to a manageable breeze. There was still a lot of bad shit squirrelled away in the recesses of her brain but she could at least hold that stuff in to deal with another time.

As much as she wanted to lie there enjoying the moment she knew she needed to get up, Max had school to go to and she had her first official shift at the Two Whales. _'Ugh, why did I agree to do this?'_ she asked herself, momentarily regretting agreeing to take a Monday morning shift. _'You agreed because you need to do something with your life, Price. What was it you said, "Can't be a teenage delinquent forever" right?'_ teased the self-deprecating part of her mind. _'Shut up...'_ she grumbled back at it.

She slipped out of the bed, taking care not to disturb the younger girl beside her. Max's alarm wasn't due to go off for another 15 minutes or so and Chloe figured she would let her enjoy as much of her rest as possible before having to face Blackhell again. _'Especially since she has to deal with Queen V and her drones today. Took all my energy to not just curb stomp those prissy bitches most days.'_

She quietly left her room, making sure to grab a towel from the airing cupboard before slowly traipsing toward the bathroom. Her legs were stiff having not stretched before walking, resulting in a sort of zombified gait. Fumbling with the light switch for a second she blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting as the room brightened, and closed the door behind her. She made short work of dumping her towel and clothes and turned on the shower to her preferred setting.

Giving the water time to heat up she took a second to look at herself in the mirror. Apart from a momentary thought to how lanky she felt, she was otherwise pretty comfortable with her appearance, although her hair might need some attention soon. _'Damn, this hair dye really isn't lasting anywhere near as long as it said it should. Fuckin' liars. I shoulda listened to Rach, never buy cheap hair dye.'_ With the blue fading and the current condition of her hair, she figured adding more chemicals to it would probably damage it further. _'Maybe I should leave it a bit and re-do it once I've cut it.'_

The only other thing she noticed was the lack of a scowl on the reflection looking back at her. For a time her reflection wasn't something she was able to look at comfortably, dark eyes stared back, sometimes angry, sometimes sad, but always full of hurt, this morning, however, they seemed clearer.

Climbing into the shower she continued her musing as she grabbed the nearest bottle of shower gel. The last few weeks had been amazing, even with the worse elements, the fact Max was back in her life meant the world to her. Rekindling their easy camaraderie during an emotionally charged week, the beginnings of something more between them as old feelings resurfaced, not even slightly dulled despite their years apart. She knew that she couldn't deny just how much she felt for the younger girl, but her insecurities and emotions were hard to control and she didn't want to hurt either of them if things ended up going badly... but rather than open up that mental can of worms Chloe decided to focus on actually showering.

* * *

As Chloe exited the bathroom, the sound of Max's alarm going off could be heard from across the hall. She made sure that her towel was securely wrapped around her chest before opening the door. When she entered the room she saw that Max had made no attempt to move yet and had, in fact, burrowed her way further into the duvet and pillows, trying to block out the loud noise disrupting her dreams. Chloe smiled as she walked over to the bedside table, pressing snooze on the younger girl's phone for her.

She leant over and peeled back the duvet exposing Max's head to the now bright room causing the brunette scrunch her face up and groaned at being forced to confront the day. _'Hella adorable.'_ Chloe thought. She considered letting Max lay peacefully until they had to leave but she couldn't risk letting her drift back off to sleep, both of them had places to be after all.

"C'mon Maximus, get your ass in gear!" Chloe practically shouted, grinning broadly as she sat down at the edge of the bed beside Max.

"Whhyy..." Max grumbled as she cautiously opened a single eye. Seeing the wide grin on Chloe's face she couldn't help but smile sleepily in return, despite being annoyed at the loud wake-up call. She let herself adjust to being awake for a moment then sat up, stretching to loosen up her shoulders as she yawned.

"Hey." The dopey sleepy smile returning to her face upon laying eyes on Chloe once more.

"Hey, yourself." Chloe replied quietly now, feeling a little shy all of a sudden. Part of that could be remembering that she was still only clad in a towel that barely made to her mid thigh, but the main cause of this sudden shyness was the way that the girl in front of her caused every butterfly in existence to start flapping around in her stomach with nothing more than a smile. _'I need to get some distance between us right now. Or I'm gonna do something, well... stupider than usual.'_

"Do we have time to get breakfast before we leave or will I need to suffer whatever the school canteen is passing off as food these days?" Max asked, her stomach beginning to wake up too.

At the mention of food, Chloe's stomach instantly stopped the butterflies and started begging her to eat something, and soon.

"There should be some eggs and bacon left downstairs, I can whip us something up fairly quickly." She wasn't anywhere near as good a cook as her mother was but she could at least keep them both from starving.

"You cook? Since when?" Max teased, trying to look as incredulous as possible at the thought.

"Yeah, I cook. You think Joyce would let me away with not at least learning the basics?" Chloe responded in mock offence. While it was true that she had learned to cook a little from Joyce as a child, having a lot of time alone after William died while her mother was working meant, on the occasions she had an appetite anyway, that she had learned to fend for herself.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's hope you've learned that ingredients go in the bowl rather than all over the kitchen now though." Max spoke through a giggle at the memory of their attempts at "helping" Joyce and William with the dinner before Chloe got bored and instigated a food fight of sorts between them.

"Smartass. You want fed or not?" Chloe retorted. Max's wide-eyed concern at losing breakfast rights gave her the answer she needed. "Now that that's settled, go grab a shower while I get dressed, ok?"

"Aye, Aye Captain." Max replied, cheekily saluting.

* * *

The pair climbed out of Chloe's truck, parked properly in the Blackwell parking lot instead of across multiple bays this time. Max made sure to grab her messenger bag from the cab behind her as Chloe fiddled uncomfortably with the collar on her shirt.

She was wearing her new work uniform; a pair of dark blue slacks, black Dr Martin style boots rather than her usual brown leather cowboy boots, and a light blue, short-sleeved, button-up shirt with the Two Whales logo on the left side of her chest and "Two Whales Diner" stitched along the sleeve cuffs. It was comfy enough, just not her usual style, most of her clothing being vests or old band t-shirts along with jeans with holes ripped in them. She'd kept her spiked bracelet on, although she was sure she'd be told to take it off too when she got there.

"Still don't know why I couldn't wear my own shit. I mean it's not like the customers are going to complain since they won't see me through the back." She grumbled, mostly to herself but loud enough that Max heard her.

"True..." Max cautiously agreed. "But it suits you. I mean I think you look great. You always do." She added as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You would think that, Caulfield." Chloe replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Noticing Max wince slightly at her tone and fall into her slightly self-conscious stance, holding her other elbow with her hand. ' _Was she flirting a little bit there or am I reading too much into that? Damnit, it's too early to work this shit out.'_ She sighed, deciding to leave it for the moment and closed the door to the truck behind her as she began walking with Max toward the main campus.

"I'm just glad Mom didn't try to force me into wearing a skirt and heels."

Max had to agree and she assumed that Joyce knew that it wasn't worth the argument either. As much as she was fine with wearing a nice dress or skirt herself when the occasion called for it, Chloe had been a different story. She was always running around and climbing trees as a kid and complained that skirts got in the way of that. She also recalled the fight William and Joyce had to get her in a dress for some nice family photos at Christmas one year. They gave up trying after that.

There were only a handful of the school kids hanging around this early, a few of them Chloe recognised from her time at Blackwell, or at least her time hanging around while Rachel went to Blackwell, however, most of their names escaped her. _'At least Max has more friends here than I did.'_ Chloe thought as she saw Max waving hello to a couple of girls with glasses, one of them wearing what looked like a lightsaber hoodie.

"Ah, Miss Caulfield. How are you this morning?" a deep booming voice called out from a few metres ahead of them.

Stood at the bottom of the steps to main doors was Principal Wells, along with an annoyed looking Ms Grant. _'Looked like they were arguing about something before we got within earshot.'_

"Hi, Sir, Ms Grant." Max greeted them both, stopping to talk to them.

"Morning, Max." Ms Grant replied.

Considering her current status as an expellee of the school, Chloe wondered if she should excuse herself and leave them to it but Ms Grant had acknowledged her presence before she could slink off.

"Oh, and Chloe, it's nice to see you again."

"Ah yes, Miss Price, it has been a while. How have you been?" Wells asked, with what Chloe thought sounded like genuine interest, but given the last time they had spoken, shortly after Rachel's disappearance, the conversation hadn't exactly gone well, to say the least, she wasn't sure if it was genuine or only part of his performance as the seemingly caring Principal.

"Just peach-" She started to respond in a flippant tone, not particularly interested in exchanging pleasantries this early, however, the nudge she received from Max's elbow made her stop in her tracks. _' Fine, I'll play nice.'_ "I've been alright, ya know. Better than I was when I was here anyway." _'That wasn't much better.'_ She thought, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I know that your time at Blackwell was, shall we say, difficult? I had rather hoped you would have buckled down and focused on graduating." His voice becoming a little more sombre as regret coloured his tone. "At this stage, I know it probably doesn't mean a great deal, but I regret how things ended, I truly do. I know that Coach Tennerman wished things had turned out differently too."

Feeling really uncomfortable with discussing her history with the school, and with Principal Wells specifically, Chloe shrugged, her eyes narrowing dangerously. She could feel Max tense at her side in response to seeing the reaction his words had inspired, but she couldn't help the prickly response that followed. "Yeah, well... things don't always work out the way you want them to, Ray"

"Quite." A flash of disappointment was briefly visible in his eyes but quickly covered up. With a sigh, he continued. "Well, Miss Price, Miss Caulfield, Ms Grant, with that I think I'll take my leave. Enjoy your morning ladies."

As she watched him walk up the stairs and into the school building an amused chuckle brought her attention back to the teacher still stood with them.

"Still the same as ever I see." Ms Grant had been her science teacher a couple of years ago, and while she had still refused to do most of her school work, she did at least enjoy the practical elements of those classes when she did attend. Plus Ms Grant would at least listen to her outbursts somewhat sympathetically, unlike the rest of the teaching staff. _'Probably the only reason I stuck it out as long as I did.'_

While Ms Grant regaled them both with a story of how she had been a rebellious spirit herself in her youth, Chloe noticed that Max had been looking around the campus and was watching something going on over in the far corner. She turned her head to follow Max's gaze and spotted a couple of workmen, one of whom was up a ladder, wrangling with a long line of cable wrapped around a lamppost.

Realising both of the girls in front of her had their attention elsewhere Ms Grant stopped her reminiscing and commented on the work being carried out. "They're installing those new 'safety cameras'." Disdain obvious in her voice at the idea of the cameras. "I do wish you had signed that petition, Max. Madsen is going to be insufferable with this. Chloe, can I at least trust your usual rebellion against authority to agree with me?"

"Um, well..." In trying to answer, Chloe was surprised that for all her previous opposition to the idea of surveillance being carried out by her step-father, there was no fight to be found this morning.

"Dear god, what parallel universe did I wake up in this morning." Ms Grant exclaimed.

For a second Max glanced in her direction before looking back at the workmen, a frown taking shape and a storm brewing in her otherwise light blue eyes. _'She looks like she did when she tore into step-prick that morning after our swim session. That was so awesome to watch her take him down like that. To be honest, it was kinda hot too, seeing her all fired up like that.'_

Shaking her head in disagreement Max turned back to face the science teacher. "To be honest, Ms Grant, given everything that has happened at this school, happened to Kate... to Rachel Amber, and other girls like them." Her voice was sharp while trying to remain respectful. "If they stop even one more girl from going through what they did, or worse, then I'll happily have them around."

"Look, Max, I'm sorry." Feeling chastised, Ms Grant apologised. "I didn't...I certainly didn't mean to imply that the school shouldn't look out for its students and local community. And I know, with what happened with that creep that people are scared. It's only natural that they want to feel safe and those cameras are part of that, but it's not the only way." She explained, trying to make her point clearer. It wasn't that she was against making the campus safe, it was more the method being employed that she had an issue with. "You shouldn't have to give up your freedom or privacy for the temporary comfort those cameras may provide."

Quickly glancing at her watch she realised she was running short on time. "Girls, I'm afraid I need to run, but, come see me before class this afternoon Max, ok?" She waited for Max to acknowledge her request before heading into the main building, throwing a quick goodbye over her shoulder. "See you later, Max. Nice seeing you again, Chloe."

Chloe raised a hand, vaguely waving in Ms Grant's direction. She turned to ask Max if she was ok after that exchange, particularly since discussing anything to do with Jefferson tended to make her anxious, but the younger girl was already asking her the same question.

"You ok?" Max asked softly to Chloe, having noticed her growing agitation over the course of the conversation.

Chloe took a deep breath in and expelled it forcefully through her nose. "Yeah... I'm fine, not a massive fan of dealing with teachers is all." She said, scuffing her boot against the ground as she fidgeted. The whole conversation had put her on edge. "What was the whole see me thing about anyway?" she asked trying to divert the conversation away from her. Thankfully Max took the hint.

"I don't think I did too well on my chemistry test on Thursday." Max explained, groaning in frustration "I'm a photographer damn it, not a scientist."

Chloe snorted. "I thought you photographers played with chemicals all the time."

"Yeah but... but that's not the same thing. Besides my instant camera means I don't get to do that stuff often."

She was almost pouting, which Chloe found unbelievably adorable; however, the opportunity to have some fun at her expense wasn't to be forgone. "Ya know, you could always ask 'Science Boy Wonder' to be your study buddy or something." She said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at the phrase study buddy.

"I'd rather not encourage him." Came the dry response.

"True dat." While she knew Max wasn't into Warren, Chloe could see that the poor boy was obliviously besotted with her. _'Maybe I should text him and tell him to get a clue?'_ Mentally sighing she knew it probably wouldn't go down well with Max if she was chasing her friends off, _'Again'_ , but the thought of him hanging around her like that left an unpleasant feeling in her gut that she couldn't quite shake. She was about to offer her own services as a tutor instead.

"Coach Tennerman... isn't he the swim team coach?" Max asked, trying to put the pieces of the previous conversation in place to form the whole picture.

Chloe's brain snapped back to attention at that moment. _'Shit...'_ She bit her lip nervously, and in that moment the only thing she asked of the universe was that Max wouldn't put two and two together. Clearly, the universe was a cruel mistress.

"Wait..." Max gasps, eyes widening, "You were an otter?!"

"Ffuuuck." She groaned to herself, pulling her beanie down over her eyes in an attempt to hide.

"Why didn't you tell me you were on the swim team?" Max exclaimed. The grin and raised eyebrows showing she was surprised Chloe hadn't mentioned it before. Although when she thought about it, Chloe had always been fairly evasive, always preferring to derail the conversation and turn it back to Max when possible.

Peeking out from under her hat, seeing Max's eager expression, it was clear that she wouldn't be able to worm her way out of having this conversation. With a slight huff, she explained. "I was only on the team for like six months before I got kicked off for having weed in my locker." A little bit of bitterness crept into her voice at the memory. "Fucking Step-tator was all over that shit for months."

In the months following her suspension, the constant fights and lectures from David and the worry in her mother's eyes was more than Chloe could handle. She'd packed her bags and left one night, climbing out her bedroom window. With no actual plan on where to go, she'd stumbled across the junkyard and figured she'd spend the night there before making a more solid plan in the morning. _'If I hadn't met Rachel that night things would probably be a lot different. Considering how much she helped me cope with stuff, probably not for the better either.'_

Further proving the universe had a sick and twisted sense of humour this morning, David appeared from the steps to the dorm buildings walking over to talk to the workman, seemly taking issue with the positioning of the mounting brackets they were marking out. She realised she must have been scowling at him when Max spoke.

"You need to talk to him at some point."

"I know, dude. I know..." Max was right. She did need to talk to him; yesterday's events had made that very clear, but she didn't know how to talk to him without all the resentment rearing its head. _'Where do I even start? There's been so much bullshit that's happened between us over the years.'_ It wasn't going to be easy no matter when she spoke to him but this morning was definitely not the time for it. Too many things going round her mind again to think straight, the previously manageable breeze was growing in intensity.

"Chlo-"

"I need to get to work." Chloe cut her off. Trying her best to ignore the look of concern as she took a step back, putting a bit of space between them. "Gonna be late if I hang about much longer. No point in pissing Mom off, any more than I usually do anyway." The attempt to deflect with humour didn't work on Max, it never had in the past either. Softening her tone a little she tried to reassure the younger girl. "I will talk to him but right now I really do need to get to the diner."

"Ok, but make sure you do." She said pointedly, knowing Chloe would probably try her best to just hide from him or put off the conversation for as long as possible without being pushed.

Chloe nodded accepting Max's point. The younger girl smiled, although some concern still lingered in her eyes, she was at least not going to press the issue any further.

"Um... I-" Chloe made to speak.

"Do yo-" Max started at the same time causing both of them to stop and smile awkwardly at each other.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Chloe glanced down sheepishly, suddenly unsure of what to do with herself. _'When the fuck did saying goodbye get so difficult? C'mon Price, sort your shit out.'_ Lifting her head she made eye contact again with the younger girl; the butterflies were beginning to flutter once more.

Without even being fully conscious of her actions, she moved closer, her hand lightly grazing Max's hip. Leaning in slowly, the momentary flash of surprise on Max's face went unnoticed by Chloe, however, she heard the smaller girl breathe in shakily. She hesitated, swallowing hard, wondering if she should abort and just go for a hug instead but the urge was too strong to resist as she softly placed her lips just barely on the edge of Max's mouth.

She knew that it probably wasn't what Max had been expecting, especially after her reaction earlier, but she had to get herself out of here before her resolve faded any further. Forcing what little bravado she could back into place she pulled away and took a step back. "K, I'm gonna go. Uh, I guess I'll text you later, yeah?" Chloe berated herself _'Smooth, real smooth.'_

"Um, yeah... sure." Max nodded, her eyebrows knitting together, seemingly not sure what to make of the kiss, considering they were supposed to keep things to just friends right now. She readjusted the strap of her bag and shifted her weight to her other leg.

The growing tension made every interaction that little more difficult for Chloe, never feeling like it was enough but not wanting to cross the line she had set up in her mind just yet. _'Shit, I'm probably confusing the fuck out of Max with this too.'_ She wasn't any less confused herself if she was honest and was beginning to wonder if things would become clearer or if life was always going to feel like sailing through a rocky bay in a thick fog, at least now her first mate was back aboard to help her look out for land through the haze.

Thankfully the sudden ringing of the school bell cut through the awkwardness of the moment.

* * *

Once they had said their goodbyes, Chloe lingered for a moment, looking up at the school building in front of her. Her relationship with this place was complicated. Although she had made some good memories there, most of which involved spending time with Rachel rebelling against the world, the pair feeling invincible like all teens do at some point in their lives, Blackwell and the grounds around its main hall had been the backdrop for a troubled period of her life, almost even the end of her life not too long ago, and much like Principal Wells, there were a lot of things about that time she regretted herself.

As she walked back to the parking lot she let her shoulders fall in and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. It was in moments like this that Chloe hated how her mind worked, while she had woken up happier than she had been for some time the small niggling thoughts eating at her had begun to worm their way back to the front of her mind.

She knew it was too late to repair the bridges that she'd razed to the ground on her way out the door. Her time with Blackwell was well and truly over, she needed to move on but the question was _'Move onto what exactly?'_

As she reached her truck, she opened the door to the cab, her hand gripping the handle loosely she swung the door out widely before climbing inside and pulling it firmly shut. With her keys inserted into the ignition, she paused before driving off to ponder that question.

To Chloe, it felt like she hadn't ever really considered life beyond the next five minutes most days. Her life had been so uncertain since her father died, since Max left, that she didn't know where the path her life should have taken was or even how to find it again. _'Wish I'd tried harder to keep my shit together... at least for Max's sake.'_ But she would have needed to have been clairvoyant to have known Max would come back into her life, let alone the diminutive brunette giving her a second chance, well fourth or fifth chance if she was counting all of the times Max had rewound to save her.

But ruminating on that wasn't going to do her any good though, she still had a full day's work ahead of her and trying to work out how to deal with the future she never thought she'd have would have to wait till later on. _'Let's just get this over with.'_ She turned on the ignition, settling into the bench seat as she fastened her seat belt. Rolling her neck to release the tension she put the truck into gear and fell into her usual relaxed driving posture before pulling out of the lot and making her way toward the Two Whales.


End file.
